Volkswagen Builds Its Own ADAS, So Why Buy Horizon Robotics' Technology?

Author | Wujie Aniu

Volkswagen builds its own ADAS, and it also buys technology from Horizon Robotics.

In July of this year, the two sides expanded their cooperation. CARIAD, the joint venture between Volkswagen and Horizon Robotics, will use Horizon's AI foundation model under a white-box licensing arrangement to continue developing Volkswagen China's unified AI driving solution.

This cooperation has already generated revenue. Horizon's 2025 annual report discloses that revenue from CARIAD before eliminations was 791 million yuan, of which 783 million yuan came from licensing and services, accounting for nearly 99%.

Why is it willing to pay this money? Volkswagen's explanation is that it leverages the foundation model capabilities Horizon has already accumulated to continue its own R&D.

Buy the Model, but Keep Vehicle-Side Work In-House

CARIAD is Volkswagen's software company. Together with Horizon Robotics it established CARIAD, with Volkswagen holding 60% and Horizon holding 40%.

In August, Han Sanchu, CEO of CARIAD China, explained at a media briefing why they chose Horizon. According to an interview published by Chedongxi, developing a foundation model requires time and money, and Volkswagen hopes to leverage Horizon's more than ten years of accumulation in this field.

Huang Chang, CTO of CARIAD, introduced that after adopting the foundation model, CARIAD will supplement complex-scenario data and perform pruning, distillation, and quantization to make the model suitable for running on vehicle-side chips. CARIAD CEO Han Hongming also emphasized that model distillation and customization work is done by CARIAD.

Distillation can be understood as using a large model to guide a smaller model's learning. Computing conditions in vehicles are limited, so the team needs to make the model more streamlined, then complete testing and vehicle integration.

Volkswagen purchases Horizon's foundational technology, and its own team continues training, validation, and adaptation.

CARIAD also has its own GAIA data and simulation platform for training and testing the system. CARIAD's official introduction also confirms that CARIAD combines its own software development and system integration with Horizon's AI models and Journey 6 series hardware.

The transactions listed in Horizon's 2025 annual report include intellectual property licensing, technical services, and product solutions. CARIAD records the relevant licenses obtained as intangible assets, expected to be used for three years. While models are still under development, these technologies already have a use, and Horizon can recognize corresponding revenue before new vehicle sales.

One System, Adapted to Different Models

The HS8 assisted driving system developed by CARIAD has two configurations—camera-only and with added lidar—serving Volkswagen models with different positioning and configurations.

The Jetta M6 launched in October is an example. Its 555 Ultra version uses the Horizon Journey 6M chip, the HSD AI foundation model, and the assisted driving system developed by CARIAD.

Huang Chang disclosed in the above interview that CARIAD took nearly a year and a half to develop its first urban assisted driving version from scratch. Since then, the team has set a target of one OTA update per quarter.

Volkswagen's announced annual plan is to have CARIAD's full-scenario advanced driver assistance solution gradually enter seven new electrified models across its three joint ventures in China; starting in 2027, it will gradually expand to more models using the CEA electrical and electronic architecture.

For Horizon, the foundational technology can be used in subsequent models; for Volkswagen, its own team can continue to modify and develop products. This cooperation satisfies the needs of both sides.

Next-Generation System Will Continue to Use Horizon's Model

The two sides have already extended cooperation to the next-generation ADAS system.

According to the arrangement announced in July, Horizon's AI foundation model will be used together with CARIAD's in-development C7H chip and GAIA data platform for Volkswagen's subsequent ADAS R&D, while also supporting iteration of existing assisted driving solutions.