Top 10 Tech Companies in Autonomous Driving

The world’s biggest Tech Companies, including Amazon, Apple and Microsoft, together with Chinese Majors Alibaba, Baidu, Huawei and others, are expanding their presence in the automotive industry to monetize the capability gap of existing Tier-1s in Software, AI, and data needed for Autonomous Mobility.

Tech giants also support the digitalization transformation of major carmakers and suppliers.

As the value creation in Mobility shifts from hardware to software, this expansion threatens major Tier-1 Suppliers Bosch, Continental and others, who still maintain the lion’s share in the radars and cameras for ADAS, but need to transform quickly to the needs of Autonomous Mobility to maintain their position in the market.

Why You Should Read This Report

This report examines the capabilities of the 10 biggest Tech Companies in Autonomous Driving and their potential to capture a share in rising new business models in Autonomous Mobility.

• Learn about their technology capabilities with in-depth analysis of their ADAS portfolio of sensors; assessment of their Lv.1-4 features, by Driving & Parking;
• Understand their value proposition, differentiation and competitive advantage from the assessment of their strategy
• Assess the market position of Tech Companies in Autonomous Driving in terms of ADAS clients and revenues

1. Alibaba
2. Amazon
3. Apple
4. Baidu
5. Huawei
6. Intel
7. Microsoft
8. Samsung
9. Sony
10. Tencent

Table Of Contents

1. Key Findings of the Analysis of Tech Companies in Autonomous Driving
   1. The competitiveness of new Tech companies in Autonomous Driving as Suppliers by Technology, Strategy and Market position
   2. The biggest opportunities for Tech Giants to disrupt current Tier1s in Autonomous Driving
   3. Learn how new Tech Suppliers aim to monetize their expertise in AI and Software
   4. Amazon and Microsoft benefit from the need for Cloud-based development of ADAS
   5. Rising competition for new revenue pools from Robotaxis & Autonomous Deliveries
   6. Chinese Tech-giants bet on the smart car-hailing revolution
   7. Key Collaborations between New AD Tech Suppliers & Carmakers
   8. Key Collaborations between Chinese Suppliers & Carmakers in ADAS
   9. Chinese ADAS Suppliers are fuelling an investment boom in autonomous & shared Mobility
   10. Summary of Core Competence, product portfolio of Tech Companies in Autonomous Driving
2. Alibaba
   1. Alibaba’s products and client base in ADAS & Autonomous Driving
   2. HD Maps to AutoX, Changan & XPeng
   3. Alibaba Cloud in Ford, Mercedes l4-AVP, saic & Xpeng
   4. Joint-Venture with Zhiji Motor for LV.2 BEV
   5. Investments in Autonomous and Shared Mobility
   6. Assessment of Readiness in Autonomous Driving
3. Amazon
   1. Portfolio in Mobility: AWS, Autonomous Deliveries
   2. Investments in Mobility
   3. Opportunities for Amazon: In-car e-commerce paired with ride-hailing or auto deliveries
   4.  Assessment of Readiness in Autonomous Driving
4. Apple
   1. Apple’s Ambition in Electric & Autonomous Cars
   2. Apple’s Investments in Mobility
   3. Current offerings & Recent activity
   4. Assessment of Readiness in Autonomous Driving
5. Baidu
   1. Baidu’s Portfolio of Products and Services in Autonomous Driving
   2. Baidu Apollo
   3. Testing Robotaxis in China and California
   4. Baidu is building Smart City Infrastructure
   5. Collaborations with Chinese carmakers in ADAS
   6. Baidu Apollo and BAIC’s Arcfox to mass produce Lv.4 robotaxis
   7. Chery collaborates with Baidu Apollo in IOV and AD.
   8. With Changan on intelligent interconnection.
   9. Baidu and FAW to build “internet plus auto”
   10. With GAC on Autonomous Driving and connectivity
   11. Investments in Autonomous and Shared Mobility
   12. Assessment of Readiness in Autonomous Driving
6. Huawei
   1. Expertise in ADAS and Portfolio of ADAS Sensors and Features
   2. Collaborations with Chinese carmakers in ADAS
   3. Huawei supplies LIDAR & car network to BAIC for L2+
   4. Huawei supplies L3 to BYD
   5. Changan and Huawei collaborate on Level-4 autopilot, 5G and C-V2X
   6. Chery collaborates with Huawei to develop core ICT technologies
   7. Huawei supplies GAC with 5G, V2X technology and work for L4
   8. Huawei’s partnerships in 5G & Connected Driving
   9. Research in 5G, V2X & other fields with GWM
   10. Assessment of Readiness in Autonomous Driving
7. Intel
   1. Intel’s Mobileye
   2. Mobileye’s ADAS revenues and portfolio
   3. Mobileye’s partnerships in ADAS
   4. Assessment of intel’s Readiness in Autonomous Driving
8. Microsoft
   1. Microsoft’s ambition in Mobility
   2. Current Offerings: Automotive Cloud Microsoft Azure
   3. Partnerships with OEMs
   4. Assessment of Readiness in Autonomous Driving
9. Samsung Electronics
   1. Samsung’s plans in Autonomous Driving
   2. Samsung’s Investments in Mobility
   3. Current Product Portfolio and Recent Activities
   4. Samsung’s Commercial Partnerships with OEMs
   5. Assessment of Readiness in Autonomous Driving
10. Sony
    1. Sony’s Product Portfolio in Autonomous Driving
    2. Assessment of Readiness in Autonomous Driving
11. Tencent
    1. Tencent’s products in Autonomous Driving
    2. Collaborations with Chinese carmakers in ADAS
    3. Tencent and GAC
    4. Tencent and Geely are partners in ICV
    5. Collaborations with German Carmakers
    6. Investments
    7. Assessment of Readiness in Autonomous Driving

Tech Companies are Building Capabilities to become the New, Core ADAS Suppliers

Tech Giants are advancing in the Mobility Market by capitalizing on their expertise in AI, Cloud and Software which are critical for Connected & Autonomous Driving and the digitalization transformation of the automotive industry.

Alibaba – the Chinese e-commerce giant – has formed an EV joint venture with SAIC, while Didi Chuxing – the Chinese ride-hailing provider – has partnered with automaker BYD in D1 development – an electric vehicle specifically designed for ride-hailing services. Cooperation between carmakers, high-tech companies and telecommunications service providers has spawned a number of startups, which have already offered experimental services in cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Changsha and Hunan.

Baidu expects to supply self-driving system Apollo to 1 million cars in 3-5 years

Huawei has recently launched new products in Autonomous Driving focusing on ADAS sensors (4D imaging radar), HMI (AR-HUD) during their product launch titled ‘Focused Innovation for Intelligent Vehicles’. 

Samsung Electronics will work together with Tesla to develop chips for their next-gen HW 4.0 for autonomous driving.

The Critical Role of Collaborations Among Chinese OEMs and Suppliers

Collaborations for the development of embedded in-vehicle smart connected systems and the ADAS software in China

Chinese tech-giants, like Baidu, Huawei, Alibaba and Tencent aim to leverage their experience in software and hardware integration in order to gain a “built-in” competitive advantage in applying smart technologies in newly launched ICV models.

Besides valuable gains from the vast amounts of generated data, ICVs deployment could be tech-giants’ first step in order to leverage their tech knowledge in the next generation of autonomous vehicles.

Key Opportunities for Tech Companies in Autonomous Driving

We identify several opportunities for Tech Companies to enter or disrupt the existing supply chain. Tech Companies in Autonomous Driving should focus on these areas:

1. Next-gen Perception Hardware for Autonomous Driving: imaging radars, advanced cameras and lidar for L3-5 Autonomous Driving
2. Software: chips for Autonomous Driving
3. AI: From AI for AD to AI for HMI such as in-car AI assistants
4. Data-based Mobility Business models such as in-car e-commerce
5. Connectivity: 5G, Connected Infrastructure and Smart Cities
6. Autonomous Shared Mobility: AMoD / robotaxis, autonomous deliveries

Leveraging a Digital twin for V2C-based ADAS

Carmakers are already starting to work with cloud computing providers for a variety of application segments—including software development platforms and SaaS. We believe this trend will continue and accelerate in the next decade.

• Amazon Web Services holds a strong position in this domain counting BMW, Lyft, TuSimple, HERE, Toyota Research Institute, and nuTonomy among its clients. In Feb’21, Torc Robotics, (part of Daimler Trucks), announced the selection of AWS, Inc. as its preferred cloud provider to handle the scale and speed needed for data transfer, storage, and compute capacity as the company prepares to deploy its fleet of L4 test trucks in New Mexico and Virginia.
• Microsoft Azure is also being used by carmakers such as VW (Feb’21), Ford, and Cruise (Jan’21) among others.
• Other notable Tech Companies in Autonomous Driving include IBM, Google, Alibaba, Tencent, Dell, Harman, and HERE