Rockchip: The “Dark Horse” of Chips Amidst the AI Explosion at the Edge

1. Market Logic Behind Stock Price Fluctuations:AIoT Demand Explosion and Edge AI Technological Breakthroughs

Since 2025, Rockchip (603893 ) has experienced significant stock price volatility. As of April 15, the closing price was 132.32 yuan, with a rolling price-to-earnings ratio (TTM ) reaching 118.2 times, significantly higher than the semiconductor industry average of 117.13 times. This volatility reflects the market’s deep engagement with its fundamentals and industry prospects.

Core Driving Factors:

• 2024 Net Profit Soars by 341%: Revenue reached 3.136 billion yuan (+46.94%), with net profit of 595 million yuan, setting a historical high.

• 2025 Q1 Performance Exceeds Expectations: Net profit is projected to be 200-225 million yuan (+196%-233%), with non-recurring net profit also growing by over 200%, reflecting the continuous explosion of AIoT demand.

• Edge AI Concept Support: The company’s products cover humanoid robots, industrial AGVs, smart speakers, etc., integrating with domestic large model technologies like DeepSeek, becoming an investment hotspot for “AI+ hardware.

2. Company Growth History: From MP3 Chips to Leading AIoT Chip Manufacturer

1. Development History: Two Decades of Technological Accumulation Establishing Industry Position

• Founded in 2001: Focused on digital audio and video chip design, early products included tape recorders and MP3 players. With chips like RK2606, it became a leader in the domestic MP3 chip market.
• 2007 Breakthrough: Partnered with Microsoft to launch Windows CE system chips, entering the international consumer electronics market and winning the “China Chip” Best Market Performance Award.
• 2010 Transformation: Launched smart application processor (SoC) chips, introducing flagship products like RK3399 and RK3588, entering fields such as smart security, automotive electronics, and industrial control.
• 2020 Post-IPO Acceleration: Revenue surged from 710 million yuan in 2019 to 3.136 billion yuan in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate of 34%.

2. Core Competitiveness: Technological Barriers and Product Matrix

• Technological Advantages:

• AI Computing Platform: The RK3588 series chips integrate 8 cores of CPU+6 cores of GPU+NPU, achieving 6TOPS of computing power, supporting edge deployment of 3B parameter models, competing with Qualcomm’s 8155P, widely used in smart cockpits and robotics.

• Low Power Design: The RK2118 audio chip consumes 30% less power than similar products, achieving over 40% market share in the smart speaker sector (data from 2024).

• Multi-Scenario Adaptability: Covers “Large Audio (Smart Speakers/Headphones) + Large Video (Security/Automotive) + Large Perception (Machine Vision/Robotics) + Large Software (Operating System Optimization)” in four major directions.

• Product Matrix:

• Flagship Products: RK3588 (AIoT Computing Platform), RV11 series (Edge Computing), RK356X (Mid-range Smart Devices).

• Emerging Fields: Automotive Electronics (covering cockpits, dashboards, ADAS), Industrial Robotics (collaborating with Geekplus on AGVs), AR/VR (collaborating with ByteDance’s Pico).

3. Market Position of SoC Chips: Pioneer in Domestic Substitution, with Differentiated Competition Against Allwinner Technology

1. Market Position: Leading Tier of Domestic SoC Chips

• Global Perspective: In the AIoT SoC field, Rockchip, Allwinner Technology, and Amlogic form a “triumvirate, but Rockchip is gradually narrowing the gap with international giants (Qualcomm, MediaTek) through its high-end product line (such as RK3588).
• Domestic Market Share:

• Smart Speaker Chips: Tied for first place with Allwinner Technology, with a combined market share exceeding 60% (data from 2024).

• Industrial Control Chips: Over 30% market share in machine vision and AGV fields, leading domestic peers.

• Automotive Electronics: Revenue share is expected to rise to 15% in 2024, with clients including BYD, NIO, and Geely.

2. Comparison with Allwinner Technology: Differences in Technical Routes and Market Strategies

Dimension	Rockchip	Allwinner Technology
Technical Positioning	High-end computing platform (RK3588 competing with Qualcomm 8155P )	Mid to low-end consumer electronics (smart speakers, tablets)
R&D Investment	R&D expense ratio is about 15%	R&D expense ratio is about 12%
Gross Margin	36.5% (2024Q3)	28.7% (2024Q3)
Customer Structure	Industrial/ Automotive accounts for 40%, consumer electronics accounts for 60%	Consumer electronics account for 80%, automotive accounts for 15%

Conclusion: Rockchip achieves higher profit margins through high-end products, while Allwinner Technology relies on the scale effect of consumer electronics, forming a complementary rather than directly competitive relationship in the AIoT field.

4. Edge AI: Rockchip’s “Second Growth Curve”

1. Logic Behind the Explosion of Edge AI Demand:

• Policy and Technology Driven: U.S. export restrictions on high-end GPUs promote domestic substitution, while open-source large models like DeepSeek lower the deployment threshold at the edge. Rockchip chips support models with parameters below 3B, covering scenarios such as educational tablets, AI toys, and desktop robots.

Data Support:

• Customer Cases: Orders for AGV robots in collaboration with UBTECH increased by 200%, and the penetration rate of RK3588 in BYD’s “Yuanwang” series models has increased.

• Product Adaptation: The RK3588 achieves multi-modal search and recognition through its NPU, addressing pain points in AIoT scenarios, with a gross margin of 42%.

2. Competitive Advantages: Technical Positioning and Ecological Layout

• Technical Positioning:

• Computing Power Coverage: Provides a gradient of computing power from 0.2TOPs to 6TOPs, meeting the needs from low-end smart speakers to high-end robots.

• Domestic Substitution: Collaborating with Kedong Software to develop a domestic industrial operating system, adapting to semiconductor equipment control systems.

• Ecological Layout:

• Developer Community: Providing SDKs and algorithm model libraries to lower the development threshold for downstream customers.

• Customer Resources: Deeply binding with leading manufacturers like BYD, Xiaomi, and OPPO, forming a closed loop of “chip-hardware-scenario.”

5. 2024 Financial Report and 2025 Q1 Performance Interpretation: AIoT Demand Continues to Exceed Expectations

1. 2024 Financial Report: Multi-Product Line Synergistic Growth

• Revenue Structure:

• AIoT Computing Platform: The RK3588 series drives revenue growth, accounting for 55% of revenue in 2024, with a gross margin of 42%.

• Automotive Electronics: Revenue increased by 120%, with clients including NIO and Xiaopeng.

• Industrial Robotics: AGV robot chip shipments exceeded 2 million, a year-on-year increase of 180%.

• Profit Drivers:

• Scale Effect: In 2024, unit costs decreased by 15%, with net profit margin rising from 4% to 19%.

• Non-Recurring Income: Fair value change income of 56.47 million yuan (mainly from investments in AI startups).

2. 2025 Q1 Performance Forecast: Driven by AIoT and Automotive Electronics

• Core Reasons for Exceeding Expectations:

• Robotics Sector: Orders for AGV robots in collaboration with Tesla are ramping up, with Q1 shipments increasing by 200%.

• Smart Cockpit: The penetration rate of RK3588 in BYD’s “Yuanwang” series models has increased, contributing over 50 million yuan in revenue.

• Future Growth Points:

• Automotive Electronics: Target revenue share in 2025 is 25%, planning to launch automotive-grade AI chip RK3576 (with 4TOPS computing power).

• Edge Computing: The RV11 series aims for a market share of 35% in the security monitoring field, with projects in collaboration with Hikvision.

6. Conclusion: “Invisible Champion” of Chips in the AIoT Era

Rockchip, with its technological accumulation and strategic layout, has secured a key position in the AIoT chip race. Despite short-term stock price fluctuations influenced by market sentiment, the edge AI chip market is expected to grow at an annual rate exceeding 100%, aligning with the industry’s trend (the global AIoT chip market is projected to reach $400 billion by 2025). This 24-year-old chip design company is poised to become a core target for domestic substitution.