Real Alpha
Watch modeSubscribed

In Good Company with Nicolai Tangen · 2 min · Sep 30, 2026

Horizon chose to enable carmakers instead of building cars

Kai Yu wanted a platform serving every car brand, like Microsoft and Intel did for PCs. That choice prioritizes broad ecosystem influence over owning a vehicle brand.

KY

Kai Yu

Kai Yu is founder and CEO of Horizon Robotics.

About this segment

Kai Yu wanted a platform serving every car brand, like Microsoft and Intel did for PCs. That choice prioritizes broad ecosystem influence over owning a vehicle brand.

From “Horizon Robotics CEO: Car Chips, Mind-Off Driving and China's Speed | Podcast | In Good Company”, Sep 30, 2026. Watch the full episode

“But I want to enable and help all the brands, all the cars.”
KYKai Yuat 8:38 · In Good Company with Nicolai Tangen8:38

Takeaways

  1. A platform can enable multiple car brands at once.
  2. Yu sees broad industry impact as more interesting than making cars.
  3. Horizon aims to help car brands attract consumers.

In this episode

Full episode
  1. 14:16Kai Yu’s roadmap to hands-off and mind-off driving4:58
  2. 11:47Long automotive cycles create a high barrier to entry2:43
  3. 31:21Car suppliers may have an edge in the robotics race4:52

  4. 7:13Horizon chose to enable carmakers instead of building cars2:17

  5. 9:15China launched more than 580 car models in six months2:48Up next
  6. 24:41China's supplier network speeds up automotive innovation2:10
  7. 26:35Horizon can partner with European chipmakers in complementary niches2:51
  8. 37:18Autonomous cars could make commutes and city layouts less restrictive4:17

Transcript

Transcribed by machine (Whisper) from the episode’s audio, so a word may be off here and there.

  1. 7:23

    they also make phones, cars, in addition to chips. So why did you decide never to build a car? I always position ourselves It's going to be like Microsoft and Intel, not for PC, but for robots. And I think a platform, an enabling platform, I think it's a much more interesting positioning, not just about like a business model, but also about in terms of the impact you're going to make to the whole world.

  2. 8:00

    For example, you know, back to the days of a personal computing era, you know, Windows and Intel, they are not just, you know, help or enable like Lenovo or Dell. They actually help the entire mankind, you know, get into the new kind of sort of technology civilization or new area of technology with a personal computer to enable all the white-collar people to increase dramatically their productivity, right?

  3. 8:35

    It's what's an amazing impact. So Xiaopeng, they actually maybe help one brand, you know, to become very, very appealing, very, very attractive to consumers. But I want to enable and help all the brands, all the cars. Is it difficult to build a car? Yeah, of course. So, but you have the technology, you have the chips. So if I ask you to build a car, how long time would it take you? You know, I wanted to achieve like a horizon inside, you know, that's, I think that's a much bigger dream, much more interesting for me.

  4. 9:13

    I don't want to be a carmaker, you know, and I want to help more car brands to become more attractive.