Chinese premium electric car manufacturer Li Auto has spun off its chip development division into a separate company. According to the company, the new entity, Xinchuang Zhihe (Shanghai) Technology Co., Ltd., was registered on July 13, 2026, with a registered capital of 100,000 yuan and is wholly owned by Li Auto.
The newly formed company will be responsible for the development of Li Auto’s AI-powered automotive processors. The company will fully manage the development process of the Mach M100 series of chips. This includes the design of the processor architecture, the development of IP blocks, the development of compilers, the production of chips and the testing stages before use in cars.
The move is considered part of Li Auto’s strategy to reduce its dependence on foreign suppliers in automotive technologies and strengthen its own software and hardware ecosystem. The company prefers specially designed chips to more effectively manage AI functions in its next-generation smart cars.
It should be noted that Li Auto is not the first company to adopt this approach in the Chinese electric car market. Previously, Nio had also started developing its own automotive chip manufacturing business through a separate subsidiary, Anhui Shenji Technology.
Founded in 2015, Li Auto is one of China’s premium car manufacturers. The company mainly produces smart electric cars and long-range hybrid cars.
