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In Good Company with Nicolai Tangen · 3 min · Sep 30, 2026
Horizon can partner with European chipmakers in complementary niches
Kai Yu says European firms focus on analog chips and MCUs, while Horizon targets computing for cars. He sees room to develop products and markets together rather than displace one another.
Kai Yu is founder and CEO of Horizon Robotics.
Nicolai Tangen, Host · CEO, Norges Bank Investment Management
About this segment
Kai Yu says European firms focus on analog chips and MCUs, while Horizon targets computing for cars. He sees room to develop products and markets together rather than displace one another.
From “Horizon Robotics CEO: Car Chips, Mind-Off Driving and China's Speed | Podcast | In Good Company”, Sep 30, 2026. Watch the full episode
Thanks. We'll look at and fix what's off.
“And we are not competing with them because they have their focus on, for example, analog chips and also the MCUs.”
Takeaways
- European firms have strengths in analog chips and MCUs.
- Horizon focuses on computing for cars.
- Yu argues for creating value through cross-border partnerships.
In this episode
Full episode- 14:16Kai Yu’s roadmap to hands-off and mind-off driving4:58
- 11:47Long automotive cycles create a high barrier to entry2:43
- 31:21Car suppliers may have an edge in the robotics race4:52
- 7:13Horizon chose to enable carmakers instead of building cars2:17
- 9:15China launched more than 580 car models in six months2:48
- 24:41China's supplier network speeds up automotive innovation2:10
26:35Horizon can partner with European chipmakers in complementary niches2:51
- 37:18Autonomous cars could make commutes and city layouts less restrictive4:17Up next
Transcript
Transcribed by machine (Whisper) from the episode’s audio, so a word may be off here and there.
- 26:44
When you see a client of yours, such as Volkswagen, laying off 100,000 people, what are the kind of reflections you are having? Well, we actually position ourselves as like a strong partner to Volkswagen and many other global companies because we don't face any competition, let's say in Europe, right? If you look at in Europe, there's semiconductor companies like Infineon, NXP, and also ST Electrical Microelectronics.
- 27:28
And we are not competing with them because they have their focus on, for example, analog chips and also the MCUs. and those kind of their strengths. But we are working on something like computing for cars, which is exactly what they are not doing. And then in that sense, we find a very, very strong synergy to work together. In my view, I think we also, I think both European friends and Chinese need to change the mindset, you know.
- 28:08
For example, like in the past, let's say, let's say several decades, the general pattern was like a global companies trying to make money from China, right? And typically for automotive. Nowadays, it's getting very difficult, right? And now there could be some other mindset that say, oh, Chinese companies, now we have a very competitive product. We need to get into Europe to take their market shares and make money from them.
- 28:43
That's also not healthy, right? I think we all need to embrace a new mindset, which is a win-win mindset, you know. Now the new opportunity is for us to work together, right? To explore a new market, to launch more competitive products and to make money, make profit, create value for global, you know? So this is the kind of the mindset I share deeply with many of my friends in Germany, in France and in other countries.