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Content from丨”China Electronics News”
In the wave of intelligent upgrades in the global electronics industry, the MCU (Microcontroller Unit), as the “nerve center” connecting the physical and digital worlds, has become increasingly important across various fields such as automotive electronics, industrial control, and the Internet of Things (IoT). As AI technology accelerates its penetration into edge computing and the demand for intelligent terminal devices grows exponentially, the MCU market is not only entering a golden window of simultaneous growth in volume and price but also facing multiple technical challenges such as performance breakthroughs, power consumption optimization, and architectural innovation.
In this context, how does Jiefa Technology, as a core player in domestic automotive-grade chips, view the current opportunities and challenges in the MCU market? How will it drive the upgrade of the local industrial chain through technological innovation? Recently, Jiefa Technology’s Deputy General Manager Xiong Xianfeng was interviewed by “China Electronics News” to share in-depth insights on key topics such as market growth, technological trends, and localization breakthroughs, providing the industry with frontline technical insights and corporate practice examples.
01
Automotive Electronics and Industrial Control as New Engines for Market Growth
Reporter: The MCU market is currently undergoing rapid changes. In the short term, which application areas are bringing significant growth? In the long term, what trends will continue to drive industry growth?
Xiong Xianfeng:The short-term growth in the MCU market mainly comes from three areas: first, the core component upgrades in electric vehicles, the increased penetration of 48V mild hybrid systems, and the explosion of the energy storage market leading to increased demand for BMS MCUs; second, the recovery of intelligent consumer electronics, with an increase in MCU demand for smart home and wearable devices; third, the increasing use of robots in the industrial automation sector, which raises higher and more diverse functional requirements for MCUs.
In the long term, the transformation of automotive electronic architectures is the core driving force, with the demand for domain controllers expected to further expand. At the same time, domestic OEMs’ requirements for supply chain controllability will accelerate the localization process of automotive-grade MCUs. In edge computing, MCUs need to integrate some AI applications (such as voice wake-up, data prediction, etc.). Additionally, the development of IoT requires MCUs to support multiple communication protocols (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LoRa, etc.). Furthermore, RISC-V architecture MCUs are facing new opportunities, as the open-source ecosystem provides strong potential in the MCU market, and the customizable instruction set of RISC-V can meet the unique algorithm requirements of new energy vehicles, such as battery SOC estimation.
02AI Integration and Architectural Innovation as Breakthrough Technologies
Reporter: The integration of AI and MCUs is becoming a core trend. What impact does this have on technological development? What specific layouts do companies have?
Xiong Xianfeng:The integration of AI and MCUs is not simply about stacking computing power, but rather about reconstructing around “scene efficiency” and “safety boundaries.” Its impact is reflected in: the demand for computing power shifting from single-core control to heterogeneous computing, with our multi-core domain control MCU AC7870 integrating a dedicated AI acceleration engine; the development model transitioning from bare-metal operation to hardware-software collaboration, reducing the threshold for AI deployment through toolchains; and the application scenarios expanding from single control to “intelligent perception + decision-making,” such as battery health prediction in new energy vehicles. We have reserved RISC-V MCU technology to support customizable instruction sets to adapt to automotive-grade AI algorithms while building an open ecosystem to avoid being constrained by foreign instruction sets.
Reporter: What directions will technological innovation in MCUs focus on by 2025?
Xiong Xianfeng:The keywords for 2025 are “functional safety,” “extreme cost-performance ratio,” and “AI adaptation.” Architecturally, the evolution will shift from single-core to multi-core heterogeneous systems, with the AC7870 project achieving breakthroughs in automotive-grade multi-core lock-step technology; energy management will upgrade from static low power consumption to dynamic adjustment, intelligently switching operating modes based on load; AI adaptation will focus on lightweight scenarios, such as optimizing energy consumption and fault prediction through mean square error calculation acceleration engines. Our strategy is to base our design on automotive-grade reliability, transferring SoC experience to MCU design, and achieving parallel “zero-modification replacement” and “dedicated function expansion” through a modular IP library, thereby lowering the localization threshold for customers.
03
Intense Market Competition Coexists with Technical Bottlenecks
Reporter: What are the main challenges currently facing the MCU industry? What is the development outlook for the next 3-5 years?
Xiong Xianfeng:Currently, the industry is facing three major challenges. Technically, the eFlash process has reached its limit at 28nm, and high-performance MCUs require more advanced processes; in the market, the competition between domestic development and globalization is intensifying, and automotive-grade MCUs still rely on the international supply chain; in the supply chain, the maturity of full localization for advanced processes is insufficient. The opportunities lie in the explosion of new energy vehicles and the rise of RISC-V, with the market share of domestic automotive-grade MCUs expected to increase from the current 5% to 20% by 2027. In the next 3-5 years, automotive-grade MCUs will dominate market growth, and customization capabilities will determine market patterns, with the implementation of RISC-V cores in automotive applications becoming a key breakthrough for domestic manufacturers.
Reporter: In the face of fierce market competition, how can companies create differentiated advantages?
Xiong Xianfeng:Our differentiation strategy is “automotive-grade genes + agile customization + localized ecosystem.” The company transfers SoC experience to MCU design, fully aligning with international manufacturers from architecture to certification; with a high proportion of self-developed IP, we achieve rapid customization through a modular IP library. For example, for the BMS scenario of new energy vehicles, we can complete algorithm adaptation within three months; our FAE team responds 24/7, and the open toolchain lowers the localization threshold. This combination of “understanding vehicles + flexibility + proximity to customers” allows us to achieve a faster replacement speed in the automotive-grade MCU field than the industry average.
As Xiong Xianfeng stated: In the face of opportunities and challenges in the MCU market, Jiefa Technology is actively leveraging its forward-looking technological layout, such as the development of the multi-core domain control MCU AC7870, the reserve of RISC-V architecture technology, and the differentiation strategy of “automotive-grade genes + agile customization + localized ecosystem” to continue making strides in the automotive-grade MCU field. In the future, Jiefa Technology will continue to deepen its technological expertise, stay close to customers, seize opportunities, and contribute to the high-quality development of the MCU industry.
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