Li Auto's smart driving chip is expected to see tape-out results in the fourth quarter and start being loaded into cars in 2026, according to local media.

Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) plans to set up a chip R&D office in Hong Kong and is looking for senior AI chip architects, according to a report in local media outlet LatePost today.

The office, which will be positioned as an international technology exchange center, is part of Li Auto's chip pre-research division, and the team is expected to be about 10 people, according to the report.

The team is mainly responsible for software development related to smart driving chips, the report said, citing a source close to Li Auto.

Li Auto is recruiting talents related to chips and training clusters in Hong Kong, requiring candidates to understand the chip industry's design technology, advanced processes, and have the ability to complete chip industry research, project research and investment, the report noted.

The company is developing two chips in-house, an AI chip for smart driving, and a SiC power chip for motor controllers, according to LatePost.

The AI chip uses an architecture similar to Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA) Hardware 5.0, with about 40 billion transistors, and has been sent to TSMC for tape-out, the report said.

The smart-driving chip is expected to see tape-out results in the fourth quarter and begin being loaded into cars in 2026, according to LatePost.

Tape-out is a technical term in the field of integrated circuit design that refers to the process of transforming a circuit design into a chip that can be produced on an assembly line after the chip design has been completed.

After successful tape-out, a prototype chip can begin mass production if it passes subsequent testing.

Nio (NYSE: NIO) unveiled the Shenji NX9031 at Nio Day 2023, held on December 23, 2023, which will be used in the ET9, with deliveries of the sedan set to begin in the first quarter of 2025.

At the Nio IN 2024 tech day event in Shanghai on July 27, Nio announced that it has seen successful tape-out of its Shenji NX9031 chip.

Another local electric vehicle (EV) maker, Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV), has also seen the tape-out of its smart driving chip.

Xpeng announced at the launch of its new Mona M03 on August 27 that its first AI chip, Turing, saw a successful tape-out on August 23.

The Turing chip will be used in Xpeng's EVs, robots, and flying cars, Xpeng said at the time.

These Chinese EV makers followed Tesla's move, which mass-produced its self-developed FSD (Full Self-Driving) chip in March 2019, with cumulative shipments of over 12 million units.

Nio IN 2024: Autonomous driving chip, SkyOS, 2nd-gen Nio Phone, and more