Flash: NIO’s Self-Driving Chip Makes First External Supply

NIO will start to generate revenue from one of its most cash-burning projects.

On November 19, according to Chinese media reports, NIO’s self-developed high-end intelligent driving chip “Shenji NX9031” has begun external technology licensing, with authorization granted to an automotive chip company.

The Shenji NX9031, involved in this external technology licensing by NIO, was initiated in 2021. The project team comprised over 600 members, covering front-end design, back-end design, verification, and testing.

It is reported that the chip adopts a 5nm automotive-grade process and delivers actual computing power approximately four times that of NVIDIA’s Orin-X. Currently, the chip has been deployed in models such as the ET9, the 2025 ES6, and EC6. William Li stated that it could bring about a cost optimization of “approximately 10,000 yuan per vehicle.”

Notably, as early as March of this year at the China Electric Vehicle 100 Forum, William Li publicly stated that NIO’s chips and operating system were open to the entire industry, suggesting that “if anyone wants to buy the best chips, they can come to NIO.”

Subsequently, in June, NIO established Anhui Shenji Technology Co., Ltd., responsible for integrating chip R&D, mass production, and licensing businesses. The legal representative of the company is Bai Jian, head of NIO’s chip division and intelligent hardware. At that time, informed sources revealed that NIO was in the process of introducing strategic investors for this entity.

William Li disclosed that the R&D expenditure for the NX9031 was equivalent to the cost of building 1,000 battery swap stations. Based on an estimated cost of 1.5 to 3 million yuan per station, the total R&D investment amounts to several billion yuan. From both cost and commercial perspectives, this external licensing of chip technology represents an ecological leap for NIO and an opportunity to monetize its technology.

It is worth adding that recently, NIO’s chip subsidiary has made further progress.

On November 14, NIO’s Anhui Shenji Technology Co., Ltd., along with Aixin Yuanzhi Semiconductor (Chongqing) Co., Ltd. and OmniVision Integrated Circuit (Group) Co., Ltd., jointly established a new joint venture—Chongqing Chuangyuan Zhihang Technology Co., Ltd., with a registered capital of 100 million yuan. Aixin Yuanzhi Semiconductor is the largest shareholder, holding a 36.4% stake.