Horizon Robotics (9660.HK) Asia Leaders Conference 2026 Takeaways Founder CEO Fireside Chat Spec upgrade on rising NOA pe...

Equity Research 8 September 2026 | 8:53PM HKT

Horizon Robotics (9660.HK): Asia Leaders Conference 2026 Takeaways: Founder/ CEO Fireside Chat: Spec upgrade on rising NOA penetration

Allen Chang | Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C.

Verena Jeng | Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C.

We hosted Horizon Robotics Founder/ CEO during the Asia Leaders Conference Ting Song | 2026 on Aug 31 - Sep 2 in Hong Kong. Key discussions focused on (1) Product Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C. roadmap and strategy, (2) Automotive industry dynamics and competition, and (3) Overseas market expansion.

Bottom line: Overall, management is positive on the specification upgrade of intelligent vehicles, with penetration of urban and highway NOA (Navigate on Autopilot) on new car models up to 46.8% in 1H26, despite rising competition in the automotive industry. Management notes Horizon Robotics is well-positioned in the industry, supported by its comprehensive products from ADAS to AD (highway/ urban NOA), integrated SoC platform and in-house software and expanding ecosystem across local OEMs, JV brands, and global-tier Tier-1 suppliers. The company continues to develop enhanced features (for example, HSD 2.0) and high-end products (for example, Journey 7 platform) to gain client traction. We remain constructive on the company’s client expansion and mix upgrade towards high-end driving solutions carrying higher dollar content. Maintain Buy.

1. Product roadmap and strategy: Comprehensive products across ADAS, NOA and integrated domain, from chipset platform to software

Horizon Robotics has been early in identifying the key ADAS/ AD market trends and has launched multiple SoCs (Journey 2/ 3/ 5/ 6 Series) since 2020. Management highlights the rising penetration of urban NOA (Navigate on Autopilot) on new car models, and the company continues to gain market share with its offering of Journey 6 platform (J6P/ J6M solution). The company released HSD (Horizon SuperDrive) with full-stack solution (chipset, software) to better empower OEM clients and recently launched HSD v2.0 featuring enhanced driving experiences. Mgmt. also highlights the company has comprehensive products including the integrated cockpit and driving solution (Starry SoC) and automotive AI agent KaKaClaw, which could offer both performance (Starry 6P at 650 TOPS) and efficiency with high

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Goldman Sachs Horizon Robotics (9660.HK)

2. Industry dynamics and competition: Enhanced performance, wider coverage, and time-to-market new product launch

Management notes the accelerated roll-out of new vehicle models in 1H26 amid the rising industry competition, and specification upgrade on driving functions. The company continues to focus on the iteration of its processing structure, tool chain and software algorithm to meet rising clients’ requirement on (1) time to market new product launch, and (2) price-to-performance ratio to cover wider range of models. In-terms of competition from OEM in-house driving chips, management notes the company has scale advantages, mass production track record, and accumulated know-how (performance, latency etc.), also partners with multiple OEMs to provide licenses and services to support their in-house platforms.

3. Overseas market growth: Partnership with global Tier-1 suppliers to accelerate penetration, positive on overseas market opportunities

Management is positive on the rising demand from overseas automotive market on ADAS/ AD in the long-term and incremental growth opportunities for company to go overseas. Horizon Robotics has partnered with multiple Tier-1 suppliers including Bosch, Denso, CARIZON etc. to secure the design-wins, server JV clients and expand the overseas…