As cars morph into rolling computers, software has become one of the most important—and contested—pieces of the automotive puzzle. Leading China’s new crop of automakers in this race are companies like Nio and Li Auto, which are developing full-stack operating systems to power tomorrow’s smart vehicles.
On March 27, Li Auto took a significant step: its CEO Li Xiang announced the open-sourcing of Halo OS, the company’s in-house automotive operating system, during the Zhongguancun Forum in Beijing. Built on four pillars—smart vehicle control, smart driving, communication middleware, and information security—Halo OS is now available for developers and industry partners.
In a follow-up interview with 36Kr and other media outlets, Li Auto’s CTO Xie Yan shared insights into the system’s origins, architecture, and goals. The effort began back in 2021 with a dedicated team of 200 engineers and an R&D budget exceeding RMB 1 billion (USD 140 million). Halo OS made its debut in Li Auto’s own vehicles in 2024.
Xie is no stranger to operating systems. Before joining Li Auto in mid-2022, he was a key figure at Huawei, where he helped shape HarmonyOS. Prior to that, he led the architecture team behind Alibaba’s AliOS, giving him a front-row seat to China’s OS evolution over the past decade.
When Xie arrived at Li Auto, the global chip shortage—sparked by pandemic-era disruptions—was still wreaking havoc. Semiconductor lead times had ballooned, and prices were spiking. A Bosch ESP chip that normally cost RMB 13 (USD 1.80) was being resold for as much as RMB 4,000 (USD 560) on the gray market.
This volatility forced automakers to diversify their chip suppliers. But adapting to new hardware is a heavy lift—typically taking six months or more. According to Xie, Halo OS slashed that window to just one month. The system’s flexible design allows it to support chips from a range of vendors, effectively future-proofing Li Auto’s supply chain strategy.
As the industry pivots toward cross-domain integration, beefed-up edge computing, and increasingly intelligent systems, Li Auto is repositioning Halo OS to match. At its core are four technical capabilities, one of which Xie calls “compute pooling”—a concept aimed at virtualizing and unifying the compute resources used by the cockpit and driving systems.
But Xie is quick to clarify that compute pooling isn’t the same as cockpit-driving integration. “What we’re talking about is pooling compute power and making it accessible across all domains,” he said. “With cockpit-driving integration, you often end up compromising because the two systems have very different safety and upgrade cycles. That doesn’t always lead to lower costs—it can actually make things more expensive and rigid.”
Cybersecurity is another focal point. Halo OS includes built-in protections such as data encryption, system integrity checks, identity authentication, and permission management. These native features are meant to help the system evolve alongside emerging cybersecurity threats.
On April 15, Li Auto published a technical white paper detailing Halo OS’s system architecture and modules, putting its open-source roadmap into motion.
Xie noted that while other open-source vehicle operating systems exist, none have made a serious dent in the market. Many simply replicate what’s already out there—or were designed for problems that no longer exist. “We’re solving our own problems, yes,” he said. “But we’re also preparing for what’s next.”
“Open-sourcing isn’t a one-and-done move,” Xie added. “It’s just the starting point. We hope to collaborate with the industry to solve real problems and move forward together.”
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This article was written by Li QIn for 36Kr.