Chip startup XHEART draws Renault, hits $700M total raised
What's the deal? XHEARTDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Chinese startup designing chips for physical AI applications such as autonomous driving and robotics, has closed a late-stage strategic round. The round brought in a first-time investment from Renault GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a follow-on from Chery AutomobileDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and participation from Chinese memory giant Changxin Technology. XHEART has now raised roughly US$687.5M to date.
What's the endgame? XHEART builds dedicated chips tuned to large-model needs, aiming to supply the hardware behind physical AI. Its core product, the X7, targets L2++ urban assisted driving and the L3/L4 autonomous market.
Why now? The X7 debuted on SAIC Volkswagen's ID.ERA 9X and has since reached SAIC's MG and Roewe models, GM's Cadillac models, and several Chery vehicles. The chip was co-developed with algorithm firm MomentaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, embedding its software understanding into the architecture to balance performance, power, and yield. Autonomous and robotics models are ballooning from millions to billions of parameters, and XHEART is already designing its next generation.
The investors: Renault is a top European carmaker that sold over 2 million vehicles last year, while Chery is a Chinese state-backed pioneer of overseas expansion. Their equity ties could help XHEART move into foreign markets as China's domestic auto sector grows crowded. Changxin's involvement is notable too — a rare bet by the memory leader on a chip firm with automotive roots, potentially giving XHEART an edge on memory pricing and supply as prices spike.
What could go wrong? More players are flooding the physical AI chip space. Chinese EV makers Nio, Li Auto, and Xpeng are all spinning out in-house chip units and seeking outside funding and customers. Xpeng's Turing chip already ships in Volkswagen cars, and the carmaker is an Xpeng shareholder — a reminder that captive relationships can lock third parties out of supply chains.
The signal: The round shows global and domestic carmakers converging on the same bet — that dedicated silicon will decide who wins physical AI. With Renault and Chery on the cap table and Changxin backing it on memory, XHEART is positioning for both the autonomous driving fight and the wider, still-open race in embodied intelligence.
Read more: 36kr.com
Image credit: IBM Research
