# Journey 6 chips by Horizon Robotics

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/vehicles/journey-6
Frontier: [Vehicles](https://technooptimist.io/vehicles.md) · Field: Self-driving chips · Company: [Horizon Robotics](https://technooptimist.io/companies/horizon-robotics.md)
Stage: Scaling (5 of 5: Research → Proto → Pilot → Deploy → Scaling)
Updated: last update 2026-08-31, facts checked 2026-10-11
Goal: Give carmakers a low-cost, home-grown alternative to Nvidia and Mobileye for assisted driving at every price point. One chip family from budget safety systems to city autopilot lets brands reuse software across models.
Status: Shipped 2.2 million Journey chips in H1 2026, guiding to 5M+ for the year; Journey 7 tape-out due Q2 2027.
Next milestone: 5 million+ Journey chips shipped in a year (guidance), target Dec 2026

## Milestones

| Status | Milestone | Date | Slip |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Done | Journey 6 series unveiled in Beijing (six variants) | 24 Apr 2024 |   |
| Done | Journey 6B enters mass production, first in a GAC Toyota model | 2026 |   |
| Current | 5 million+ Journey chips shipped in a year (guidance) | Dec 2026 |   |
| Planned | Journey 7 tape-out for Level 3/4 driving | Q2 2027 |   |

## Upcoming events

- **Dec 2026**: 5 million+ Journey chips shipped in a year (guidance)
- **Q2 2027**: Journey 7 tape-out for Level 3/4 driving

## Most important updates

- **31 Aug 2026**: Horizon ships 2.2 million Journey chips in H1 2026 and guides to more than 5 million for the year. Horizon Robotics shipped about 2.2 million Journey chips in the first half of 2026, up 12.1% despite a weak car market, on revenue of RMB 2.055 billion (up 32.9%). ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/horizon-ships-2-2-million-journey-chips-in-h1-2026-and-guides-to-more-988df01d.md) · [original source](https://www.investing.com/news/transcripts/earnings-call-transcript-horizon-robotics-posts-strong-h1-2026-growth-as-losses-continue-93CH-4882954))
- **24 Apr 2024**: Horizon Robotics unveils the Journey 6 chip series in Beijing. On the eve of the Beijing Auto Show, Horizon Robotics launched its Journey 6 series of six processors for low-, mid- and high-end assisted driving, with mass production slated for 2024. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/horizon-robotics-unveils-the-journey-6-chip-series-in-beijing-87941b39.md) · [original source](https://www.caixinglobal.com/2024-04-25/byd-backed-horizon-robotics-unveils-next-generation-auto-chips-102190176.html))

## Current obstacles

- **Still losing money while scaling**: Adjusted net loss was RMB 1.67 billion in H1 2026; management targets breakeven around 2028.
- **Proving itself outside China**: Nearly 60 export models use its chips and test cars run in France, Germany and Japan, but foreign carmakers need long validation.

## Physics limits

- **Headline TOPS overstate usable speed**: A figure like 560 TOPS assumes half the network's weights are zero; driving networks are often limited by memory bandwidth rather than raw math, so real speed is lower.
- **In-car power and heat budgets**: A car computer must run for years in heat and cold on tens of watts, far less than data-center chips, which caps how large a driving model it can run in real time.

## How it works

### Nash BPU: Horizon's own neural engine

Every Journey 6 chip uses Horizon's Nash processor design, built for the transformer-style networks used in end-to-end driving.

### Tiers: One family, four price points

6B for basic safety, 6E for highway assist, 6M for light city driving, 6P for full-scenario driving; carmakers pick compute to match the car's price.

### Software: Chip plus optional driving stack

Carmakers can run their own software or Horizon's HSD system, which runs on the 6P; Horizon earns licence fees as well as chip sales.

## Spec sheet

| Spec | Journey 6 chips | Provenance |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Journey 6P compute (sparse) | 560 TOPS | reported |
| Journey 6M compute | 128 TOPS | reported |
| Journey 6E compute | 80 TOPS | reported |
| Journey 6B compute | 10+ TOPS | reported |
| Journey 6P CPU | 410K DMIPS | reported |
| Journey chips shipped, H1 2026 | 2.2 million | reported |
| Export models with Horizon chips | nearly 60, from 24 brands | reported |

Provenance: reported = stated by the company; estimated = our estimate; sample = a sample figure.

## About Horizon Robotics

Horizon Robotics designs AI chips and autonomous driving software for passenger vehicles. Founded 2015 by Yu Kai (Baidu autonomous group), IPO on Hong Kong Stock Exchange October 2024, raising $696M. Journey processors power 20+ Chinese automakers and Volkswagen Group.

- Journey 6 powers 100+ vehicle models from 20+ Chinese automakers and Volkswagen Group.
- HSD mass production November 2025, one-stage neural network, three sensor configs.
- Hong Kong-listed October 2024, $696M IPO. CARIZON JV with Volkswagen for Europe.

- Founded: 2015
- Headquarters: CN
- Status: public
- Listing: 09660 (HK)
- Valuation: $8B (market cap, estimate, 2026-10)
- Last round: Hong Kong IPO $696M, 24 Oct 2024
- Website: https://en.horizon.auto
- People: Yu Kai (Founder and CEO)
- Partners, customers, investors: BYD (customer); Geely (customer); Li Auto (customer); CARIZON (partner); Volkswagen Group (partner)

Company page: https://technooptimist.io/companies/horizon-robotics.md

## Related programs

More from Horizon Robotics:

- [Horizon SuperDrive (HSD)](https://technooptimist.io/vehicles/horizon-superdrive.md) (Deploy)

Everything in Vehicles: https://technooptimist.io/vehicles.md

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