In his research on potential customers in the domestic auto market in 2023, J.D. Power proposed that intelligence is the "new luxury" of Chinese automobiles.
    According to the 2023 China New Car Purchase Intention Study SM (NVIS) by the institution, among the influencing factors of potential car purchase decisions in China in 2023, the weight of the intelligent experience of the car has reached 14%, which is the factor with the largest year-on-year increase among all factors. Not only that, the additional budgets of potential customers of new energy vehicles and fuel vehicles for enhancing the intelligent experience have reached 9% and 47% respectively.
    This means that as the market share of domestic new energy vehicles continues to rise, the first-phase goal of the automotive industry's electrification transformation has been basically achieved. Meanwhile, enhancing the intelligent experience has become the theme of the second half of the automotive industry's upgrading.
    Due to the fact that the advancement of intelligent driving technology is restricted by various factors such as laws and regulations and personal safety, which leads to its slow development, the intelligent cockpit has thus become a key point for automakers at this stage. The growth of the overall market size of intelligent cockpits has also driven the upgrading of the upstream and downstream of the supply chain.

In the new stage, domestic manufacturers are actively positioning themselves
    Throughout the entire cabin, the functions that give users an intuitive experience and can directly cultivate their usage habits are nothing more than those related to vision and hearing. With the advancement of automotive intelligence, the technological and product upgrades for improving audio-visual related functions are also accelerating continuously. Among them, the in-vehicle audio DSP chip has a broad market prospect due to its significant optimization effects on sound quality, noise reduction, speech recognition, audio signal processing and other aspects.
    DSP chips can achieve efficient processing of digital audio signals in audio processing. Enhance the sound effect through tuning to make the music pleasant to the ear. Through the processing of audio signals, multiple functions such as active noise control, voice signal processing and music signal processing that improve the user's auditory experience are realized.
    At present, the technology of in-vehicle audio DSP chips is constantly advancing, and their functions are becoming increasingly powerful. Audio DSP chips with high precision and high computing power can also achieve more complex audio processing algorithms. With the upgrading of technologies such as AI, they create more diversified usage scenarios and more ultimate usage experiences for in-vehicle users.
    In recent years, domestic manufacturers have also begun to increase their investment in the field of automotive audio DSP chips. Both in terms of technology and application, it can be seen that domestic manufacturers have already made their mark in the market.
Judi (Shanghai) Technology Co., LTD. (referred to as "Judi Technology") is a professional provider of intelligent cockpit audio solutions.
    The company is composed of a group of senior experts in audio technology, chip design, system development and other fields. It has rich experience in high-end automotive-grade audio DSP chips, automotive application solutions and other fields. It has R&D centers in Shanghai and Chengdu respectively.
    Recently, Judi Technology has completed its first round of financing. This round of financing was jointly led by Yuanhe Houwang and Shengyu Huatian Fund under Shengyu Investment. This round of financing will be used for the research and development of the new generation of leading domestic automotive-grade audio DSP chips of Judi Technology.
    Although facing a situation where the majority of the market is dominated by industry giants such as ADI and ON Semiconductor, Judi Technology, based on its rich technical experience in the audio chip field and in-depth understanding of market demands, has successfully launched multiple automotive-grade audio DSP products that are on par with overseas brands in terms of performance, and has already achieved mass production and delivery capabilities.
    Among them, the product model AD156X is a high-performance audio DSP chip that can achieve functions such as voice preprocessing, enhancing the sound effect in the car cabin, and eliminating road noise/engine noise. This product is equipped with the Xtensa-HIFI5 Audio DSP core with a main frequency of 504MHz, which can efficiently process complex audio signals.

    The AD156X I2S supports 5 groups of TX and RX, and supports 80-channel audio input and output. It also supports four channels of high-performance ADC Differential SNR 111dBA (Typ) and two channels of high-performance DAC, AI-supported acceleration instructions, and provides NN-LIB, making the interaction experience in the cabin more intelligent.
    Another automotive-grade Audio DSP chip, model AD145X, is also applicable to various scenarios such as high-end audio effects and noise reduction in the cabin. It is equipped with the Xtensa-HIFI4 Audio DSP core with a main frequency of 294.912MHz. The 12S supports 2 groups of TX and RX, and supports 32-channel audio input and output. It supports 2-channel ADC:DifferentialSNR 115dBA(TyP) and 2-channel DAC :DifferentialSNR 120dBA(Typ), making it a more cost-effective automotive-grade audio DSP chip.

    Up to now, the related products and solutions developed and designed by Judi Technology are being introduced to multiple end customers. It can be said that it has successfully boarded this "high-speed train" called domestic substitution, and is expected to break the long-standing situation in the field of automotive-grade audio DSP chips. It also helps more automakers achieve efficiency improvement and cost reduction, and enhance their competitiveness.

With strong support, it's the right time for industrial development
    Although overseas manufacturers currently have a greater advantage in the automotive-grade audio DSP chip market, judging from the current development trend of Judi Technology, such a situation is both a challenge and an opportunity for domestic automotive audio DSP chip manufacturers.
    Compared with overseas manufacturers, domestic enterprises have two major advantages - strong policy support and a huge terminal market.
    From a policy perspective, in the "National 14th Five-Year Plan" formulated by the national government, an important goal is that by 2025, the self-sufficiency rate of domestic chips should reach 70%. To achieve this goal, various terminal application markets will undoubtedly increase the usage rate of domestic chips to a greater extent and with greater intensity in the coming years, providing more opportunities for domestic automotive audio DSP chip manufacturers to "get on board".
    Not only that, the outcome of this US presidential election will have a crucial impact on the future development of the domestic semiconductor industry. As Trump's popularity in the election campaign grows louder, our country is facing the upcoming "change" and has to accelerate the implementation of response measures.
    It is reported that in the near future, relevant departments will require several automakers represented by BYD, Great Wall, Geely and SAIC to check the rate of chip autonomy. The entire industry needs to be prepared for extreme pressure. The situation of being "strangled" as much as possible has curbed the development of intelligent driving and driverless technology, enabling domestic enterprises to take the lead in the fields of power semiconductors and automotive intelligent chips.
    In this regard, the "Guidelines for the Construction of the National Automotive Chip Standard System (2024 Edition)" released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also proposes that by 2025, more than 30 key standards for automotive chips will be formulated, covering key product and application technology requirements such as control chips, computing chips, and memory chips, as well as matching test methods for complete vehicles and key systems. By 2030, more than 70 standards related to automotive chips will be formulated, ensuring that key areas such as basic and general requirements are supported by standards, and accelerating the healthy development of automotive chip technology and products.
    From the perspective of the market, the new energy vehicle market will continue to maintain a high growth rate, and China's new energy vehicle industry is far ahead in both market size and technological development.
    As the intelligence level of the cockpit continues to deepen, the boundary between automobiles and smart mobile terminals is becoming increasingly blurred. The frequency with which users achieve human-machine interaction through various configurations in the cockpit during vehicle operation has been on the rise, driving the rapid expansion of the smart cockpit market size.
    At present, users have put forward higher standards for the intelligence of the cockpit. They not only require a system that operates smoothly enough, but also have newer and more distinctive demands for information and entertainment, wireless connection, intelligent security, and the Internet of Vehicles within the cockpit. The prerequisite for meeting users' demands is the upgrading of technologies and products such as chips, communication, display, and AIGC. This has also driven the rapid development of multiple sub-sectors, including domestic in-vehicle audio DSP chips.
    Overall, the driving force formed by policies and the market in the general direction is intensifying, which also means that in the near future, we will witness a situation where industries such as new energy vehicles, intelligent cockpits, and automotive-grade chips are flourishing in multiple areas. High-quality domestic automotive audio DSP chip manufacturers like Judi Technology have a promising future driven by the already formed industrial trend.