IPO Radar | Zebra Intelligence's independence is in question, and the OEMs' self-developed trend is squeezing its growth potential

The first submission became invalid six months later, and Zebra Intelligent Information Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Zebra Intelligent”) has once again launched a bid for the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

This intelligent cockpit solution provider, backed by Alibaba and SAIC Group, has its products installed in nearly ten million vehicles. However, the updated prospectus shows that the company’s net loss in 2025 could reach 1.896 billion yuan.

Revenue growth has stagnated, core customers have begun self-research, and related party transactions are complex… Under the scrutiny of the capital market, it remains to be seen whether Zebra Intelligent can win a ticket to entry with its own story.

Zebra Intelligent positions itself as a software-centric intelligent cockpit solution provider. According to statistics from Zhaoshang Consulting based on revenue, the company ranked first in the industry in 2024. By the end of 2025, the number of its OEM customers had risen to 43.

From the market outlook, the scale of China’s intelligent cockpit solution market is expected to grow from 129 billion yuan in 2024 to 327.4 billion yuan in 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 16.8%; among them, the software solution segment will expand from 40.1 billion yuan to 114.9 billion yuan at a compound annual growth rate of 19.2%.

Despite being in this trillion-level fast lane, Zebra Intelligent’s actual operational performance has not been able to keep pace with the industry. From 2023 to 2025, the company’s operating revenues were 872 million yuan, 824 million yuan, and 861 million yuan, with growth nearly stagnating. Meanwhile, net profits were -876 million yuan, -847 million yuan, and -1.896 billion yuan, accumulating losses exceeding 3.6 billion yuan. Notably, the year’s loss in 2025 has surpassed the total losses of the previous two years.

Interface News noted that Zebra Intelligent’s gross margin is not low, with a comprehensive gross margin of about 41.9% in 2025. The main reason for its continued losses lies in high expenditures, particularly the ongoing “consumption” of research and development investment, with employees engaged in R&D accounting for 72.8% of the total (931 people).

From 2023 to 2025, Zebra Intelligent’s R&D expenses were 1.123 billion yuan, 980 million yuan, and 725 million yuan, with R&D investment in both 2023 and 2024 exceeding revenue for those years. In 2025, R&D efficiency improved with the assistance of AI, and R&D expenses as a proportion of revenue decreased to 84.2%.

In 2025, an impairment loss of 1.841 billion yuan on other intangible assets became a key factor dragging down performance. The company explained that this is related to certain system-level operating system solutions, and the rapid provision for large impairments on core assets reflects the intense market competition facing Zebra Intelligent.

In terms of equity structure, Zebra Intelligent is a “unicorn” jointly incubated by Alibaba and SAIC Group.

In 2015, Alibaba and SAIC Group reached a strategic cooperation agreement to jointly establish Zebra Intelligent. Since then, the company has undergone multiple rounds of financing, attracting capital from Tmall, Taobao, Yunfeng Fund, and China Life Investment, among others. As of the prospectus disclosure date, Alibaba is the controlling shareholder, indirectly holding 1.394 billion shares, accounting for approximately 41.67% of the total issued share capital, with an adjusted voting right of about 37.09%; SAIC Group indirectly holds 1.1 billion shares, with a shareholding ratio of 32.9%, and an adjusted voting right of about 35.48%.

Interface News noted that in Zebra Intelligent’s 12-member board of directors, Alibaba nominated 4 members, and SAIC Group nominated 3 members, accounting for nearly 60% in total. One of the company’s early founders, current CEO Dai Wei, joined Alibaba in 2007 and held important positions.

For Zebra Intelligent, the roles of the two major shareholders go far beyond just funding.

Zebra Intelligent maintains long-term business cooperation with SAIC Group, jointly developing and applying proprietary automotive operating systems and AI-native intelligent cockpit solutions for multiple SAIC vehicle platforms. From 2023 to 2025, related revenues were 413 million yuan, 319 million yuan, and 338 million yuan, accounting for 47.4%, 38.8%, and 39.2% of total revenue, respectively. SAIC Group has remained Zebra Intelligent’s largest customer for three consecutive years. Additionally, SAIC Group appeared on the company’s list of top five suppliers in 2023 and 2024.

Zebra Intelligent procures public cloud services, software licenses for Amap and Tmall Genie, shared services, and more from Alibaba. From 2023 to 2025, the procurement amounts were 281 million yuan, 257 million yuan, and 213 million yuan, accounting for 58.4%, 50.5%, and 40.7% of total procurement for each period, respectively. Alibaba remains the company’s largest supplier. Furthermore, Alibaba is also a customer during the same period, as Zebra Intelligent provides comprehensive software solutions to it.

The prospectus shows that Zebra Intelligent expects the annual upper limit of related party transactions with Alibaba from 2026 to 2028 to be 196 million yuan, 203 million yuan, and 222 million yuan, respectively; the upper limit of related party transactions with SAIC Group is expected to be 485 million yuan, 535 million yuan, and 570 million yuan, with related transaction amounts showing an increasing trend year by year. “We benefit from the strong support of both major shareholders, Alibaba and SAIC,” Zebra Intelligent stated in the prospectus.

Overall, Zebra Intelligent exhibits a highly concentrated characteristic on both the customer and supplier sides. The company’s revenue significantly relies on its top five customers. From 2023 to 2025, the revenue contribution from the top five customers accounted for as much as 89.9%, 88.5%, and 76.4% of total revenue for each period. A similar concentration is observed on the supplier side, with the proportion of procurement from the top five suppliers accounting for 73.7%, 68.7%, and 56.6% of total procurement during the same period.

Although Zebra Intelligent repeatedly emphasizes its independence from Alibaba and SAIC Group in the prospectus, how to prove its independence to regulatory agencies in light of the above data may become a key issue in its listing process.

Interface News noted that the intelligent cockpit sector is undergoing a profound power restructuring. Ten years ago, car manufacturers needed to rely on third-party forces to “catch up” on intelligence; today, leading car manufacturers are no longer satisfied with purchasing solutions, and self-research is gradually becoming the trend.

“In order to cope with the accelerated transformation of automotive intelligence, more and more OEMs have initiated plans to develop proprietary intelligent cockpit solutions internally.” Zebra Intelligent is also aware of this trend and candidly stated in its risk warning in the prospectus that it cannot guarantee that existing customers will not follow this path; if more OEMs choose self-research, demand for the company’s solutions may decrease, which could have a significant adverse impact on its business and financial situation.

Meanwhile, Zebra Intelligent’s largest customer, SAIC, is a typical representative of this trend.

In 2021, SAIC’s former chairman Chen Hong proposed the “soul of the car company” theory, emphasizing that automotive enterprises need to independently master core technologies and clearly stating that they do not accept overall autonomous driving solutions provided by a single supplier. In the intelligent cockpit field, SAIC has adopted a strategy of “internal and external cultivation”: while investing in Zebra Intelligent externally, it also strives to master core autonomy through full-stack technology breakthroughs internally.

In 2025, SAIC announced that the Galaxy Full Stack 3.0 had been implemented, capable of seamlessly integrating with the three major mobile systems: Harmony, Android, and iOS, and proposed the concept of Full Stack 4.0, which aims to “reshape the car with AI,” intending to transform the entire vehicle into a sentient, thinking, and evolving intelligence, marking the beginning of the “AI Car” era.

The push towards AI aligns perfectly with Zebra Intelligent’s layout. According to the prospectus, Zebra Intelligent has established a complete AI system covering everything from underlying technology to daily functions for car owners, developing tools including the Yuanshen AI software stack and System Agent.

From the data perspective, although Zebra Intelligent’s AI full-stack end-to-end solution revenue is rapidly growing at a compound annual growth rate of 117.1%, its scale in 2025 is less than 70 million yuan, accounting for only 7.7% of total revenue and has not yet formed substantial support.

On one hand, there is the replacement pressure brought by the wave of OEM self-research, and on the other hand, there is the survival squeeze caused by intensified industry competition. As an independent third-party supplier, whether Zebra Intelligent can find a clear ecological position and achieve stable profitability amid industrial transformation remains to be seen over time.