- Nio has begun external supply of its Shenji NX9031 chip technology, licensing it to an automotive chip company, according to LatePost.
- Different licensing models correspond to varying contract values, an informed source stated.
Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO, HKG: 9866) has reportedly started licensing chip-related technologies to other companies, generating revenue from one of its most cash-burning operations.
The company has commenced external supply of its in-house developed high-end smart driving chip Shenji NX9031, licensing technology to an automotive chip company, local media outlet LatePost reported today.
The report did not disclose further details about the licensing deal but cited a chip industry insider as saying that different licensing models correspond to varying contract values.
For a single IP (intellectual property) license, cooperation fees typically range in the millions of RMB; for system-on-a-chip (SoC) technology licensing, order values could reach hundreds of millions of RMB, the source said.
LatePost noted today that the move comes as Nio intensifies cost-cutting and revenue diversification efforts amid significant cash flow pressures and fourth-quarter profitability commitments, setting the stage for its chip business's commercial expansion.
Nio unveiled the Shenji NX9031 in December 2023. The ET9, which began deliveries in late March, features two Shenji NX9031 chips, while other new Nio brand models incorporate one Shenji NX9031 chip.
The company previously said that a single Shenji NX9031 chip delivers computing power equivalent to four mainstream autonomous driving chips. Nio brand vehicles previously utilized four Orin X autonomous driving chips.
On March 29, during the China EV 100 Forum, Nio founder, chairman, and CEO William Li told local media that Nio's chip and operating system are open to the entire industry and welcomes peers to adopt them.
"If you want to buy the best chips, you can come to Nio," he said at the time.
On June 18, LatePost reported that Nio planned to bring in strategic investors for its chip-related business, with the chip team set to become an independent project entity.
On June 19, another domestic outlet Cailian reported that this independent project entity had completed registration under the name Anhui Shenji Technology Co Ltd.
Following the spin-off of its chip business, Nio would accept orders from other automakers, according to Cailian's report.
Anhui Shenji Technology was registered on June 17 with Nio vice president Bai Jian as its legal representative.
Its registered capital is RMB 10 million ($1.4 million), with business scope covering chip design and sales, according to data provider Tianyancha.
On November 14, Anhui Shengji, Axera Semiconductor and OmniVision Integrated Circuits Group established a joint venture -- Chongqing Chuangyuan Zhihang Technology Co Ltd. Axera holds a 36.4 percent stake as the largest shareholder, LatePost noted in its report today.
The report did not explicitly state whether Axera is the automotive chip company that obtained Nio's chip technology license.
Founded in 2019, Axera initially focused on AI vision chips before entering the automotive chip market in 2023.
In early April, Axera announced the completion of a Series C financing round exceeding RMB 1 billion yuan.
Currently, Axera has mass-produced its M55 and M76 series chips for basic driver assistance, with computing power primarily benchmarked against Horizon Robotics' (HKG: 9660) Journey 2 and Journey 3 chips. Its high-end chips targeting urban NOA (Navigation on Autopilot) are still under development, LatePost's report noted.
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