During the National Day holiday, Caijing Tianxia (a well - known Chinese business magazine) rolled out a special feature named "Pioneers of Science and Technology Innovation," which zeroes in on innovative entrepreneurs. Yu Kai, the founder and CEO of Horizon Robotics, stands out as a trailblazer in the industrialization of artificial intelligence. He holds the distinction of being the first Chinese scholar in artificial intelligence who studied in the United States to return to China.

Yu Kai was born in Nanchang, Jiangxi, in 1976. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Nanjing University and went on to obtain a Ph.D. in computer science from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in Germany. In 2012, he made his way back to China and joined Baidu, a leading Chinese search engine and tech giant.

Three years later, in 2015, he took the bold step of founding Horizon Robotics. Under his leadership, the company made significant strides by developing China's first edge artificial intelligence processor and automotive - grade artificial intelligence chip.

In 2019, Horizon Robotics reached a major milestone. It achieved mass production of its first automotive - grade chip and successfully secured front - end fixed - point (pre - installation) projects in the markets of five countries. This marked its foray into the global automotive chip arena.

Fast - forward to 2024, and Horizon Robotics made its debut on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. As of September 30, 2025, the company's total market capitalization had soared to HK$132.983 billion. In the same year, it reported revenue of RMB 2.384 billion and commanded over 40% of the market share for advanced driver - assistance systems among Chinese original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

In the first half of 2025, the company continued its upward trajectory. It reported revenue of RMB 1.567 billion, representing a year - on - year increase of 67.6%. Moreover, the cumulative shipments of its Journey series chips had surpassed 10 million units, a testament to its growing influence in the chip market.