Analysis of the Security Chip Industry Landscape and Alternative Solutions

Market Position and Status of Hisilicon Chips

In the field of security chips, Hisilicon Semiconductor has long held a dominant position. According to industry public data and media reports, its market share once reached around 70%, almost monopolizing the entire security monitoring chip market. With excellent performance, comprehensive supporting solutions, and highly competitive prices, Hisilicon chips have become the first choice for many security equipment manufacturers. Particularly in core security devices such as network cameras (IPC), digital video recorders (DVR), and network video recorders (NVR), Hisilicon provides a complete product line layout.

However, due to well-known geopolitical factors and changes in the international trade environment, the application prospects for Hisilicon chips in the security field face significant challenges. For a considerable time into the foreseeable future, it will be difficult for the security industry to continue adopting Hisilicon chip solutions on a large scale. This market change has prompted the entire industry to accelerate its search for alternative solutions while also driving rapid development among domestic chip manufacturers. Notably, compared with consumer electronics fields, process requirements for security chips are relatively relaxed; mainstream processes often use 28nm or above technology nodes which provide good development opportunities for domestic chip companies.

Overview of Hisilicon's Product Line

Hisilicon’s product line in the security sector is extremely rich and mainly divided into IPC SOCs and DVR/NVR SOCs. In terms of IPC SOCs, Hisilicon offers a complete product matrix ranging from 2 million pixels to 8K resolution. The 3518ev300 primarily targets consumer-grade 2MP and 3MP IPC markets; while series like 3516 cover basic products from 2MP up to AI-enabled products at 5MP; high-end products such as 3519av100 and3559av100 support resolutions of both4Kand8K respectively with integrated AI processing capabilities.

In DVR/NVR SOC areas too，Hisilicongas an extensive layout。The3536dv100supports four channels1080p25video processing；the3536cv100can handle eight million pixel or four million pixel1080p25video streams；while3535av100is capableof simultaneouslyprocessing six channels1080p30video。ForAIapplication scenarios，Hisiliconghas launched3520dv500、3521dv200and3531dv200seriesproducts thatsupportfour,eight,and sixteen channelsof1080pvideoforAIanalysisprocessingrespectively。Theseproductsachieveindustry-leadingperformance,powerconsumption,andcostlevels,givingsecurityequipmentmanufacturersarichselection。

Analysis of Domestic Replacement Chip Manufacturers

With supply constraints on his silicon chips,many domesticchipcompanieshavequicklyrisen,takingupmarketvacancies.These manufacturers focusonproductperformance,functionalcharacteristics,andapplicationscenarios,resultingina diversifiedalternative solution landscape.

Xingchen Technology(Sigmastar) is alocalcompanyinXiamenwhose technicalteamoriginatesfromTaiwan’sMstarandhasnowbeenacquiredbyMediaTek.The companyoffersacomprehensiveproductlinewithsolutionsrangingfrom2millionpixelsto4Kresolution，withmodelnumbersbeginningwithSSCandSSR.Itisnoteworthy that Xingchen’swebsite designandproductclassificationclearlydrawsinspirationfromhis silicon's modelshowingitsdeterminationto benchmarkagainstindustryleaders。 nNovatek(Novatek) is aknownchipdesignfirmbasedinTaiwantraditionallystrongindisplaydriverICsanddrivingrecorderchips.Inthesecurityfield，NovatekhassuccessfullylaunchedNT98566(supporting5Mpixelsand800000pixelsIPC)，NT98562(400000pixelsIPC)，aswellasNT98323(whichfunctionscomparabletoHisilicons’3535av100).ByacquiringGrainMedia（Zhiyuan），Novatekincreaseditstechnicalaccumulationinthesecuritychipsector—Grain Media'sGM8135shadpreviouslybeensuccessfullyusedinthewidelyconsumed200000pixelWi-FiIPCamarket。 nFullhanMicroelectronics(Fullhan)is affiliatedwithHikvision headquarteredinShanghai,longfocusedondevelopingvideoprocessorchips.ItsmainproductsincludeanalogcameraISPandaPCSOCrepresentativeworksareFH8858v200(800000pixelsIPC)、FH8856v200(500000pixelsIPC)以及FH8852v200（两百万像素的ipc）等系列产品。在与海康威视深度合作下，全汉微在算法优化和系统集成方面具有独特优势。 n ### Development Status Of Other Domestic Chip Manufacturers Apart From Major Companies Above, domesticenterprisesareactivelylayinginsecuritychipsectorformingamulti-levelall-roundreplacementplan。GokeMicroheadquarteredinChangsha,coversmultiplefieldsincludingstorage,intelligentset-topboxes,videocodecandsmartIoT etc.intermssecuritcychips,GokelaunchedGK71021300万像素ipc、GK720220万像素ipc及GK72052000系列产品。其中GK72052002000相当于海思3516ev20，而 GK760510050万像素视频处理的则是海思3516dv20 。 nBeijingJunzheng(Ingenic)focusesonmicroprocessorandsmartvideosolutionsdevelopments.T20/T21serieswidelyappliedintheconsumergrade two hundred thousand/three hundred thousand pixels IP camera market.Recentlyreleased T30/T31,T40,C10等新品进一步丰富了其产品线，在低功耗和AI加速方面有所突破。GuangzhouAnkai(Anyka)，thoughrelativelysmallinscale，但其AK3918e芯片在消费级Wi-Fi摄像机市场占据一定份额。而上海齐感科技(Senslab)专注于边缘AI芯片开发，其QG2101b芯片已被小蚁科技采用于IoT摄像机解决方案。HangzhouXiongmai(XM)originallyprimarilydesignedsecuritymodulesbutrecentlybegantointroduceownchipproductscoveringanologcameraISPs、IPCSOCsandDVR/NVRSOCs,etc.ItsproductlineincludesXM330(anologtwohundredthousandpixelISP)、XM530(twohundredthousandpixelIPCSOC)、XM85204channelsat108025DVSOCetc.showingsignificantstrategicintenttowardsupstreamextensionoftheindustrialchain.【IndustryDevelopmentTrendsAndOutlook】Currently,theSecurityChipIndustryisinakeytransformationperiod.Ononehand,theexitofhisliconleavesamarketgapprovidinga raredevelopmentopportunityfordomesticchipcompanies;ontheotherhand,thefast-popularizationofAitechnologyposeshigherrequirementsforcomputationalpower.Sincefocusingontechnologicaladvancements,supportforhigherresolutions(like4Kor8k),morepowerfulAi-processingabilities(facialrecognitionbehavioranalysis)&lowerpower consumptionwillbecomefuturecorecompetitiveness.ForMarketStructure,inashortterm,"abloom"competitivelandscape mayemerge,butlong-termintegrationwithinindustriesisinexorable.Coretechnologically-advanced firms equipped withcompleteproductlines&goodcustomer-supportcapabilities shallultimatelyprevail.Notably,inlightoftheexpansionofsituationslikeSmartCities&IntelligentHomes,demandformarketsurroundingscontinuouslygrows providingwidergrowthspaceforthedomesticchipecosystem.FromSupplyChainSafetyconsideration,promotingdomesticalternativesmustnotonlyremainatthelevelofchips butshouldalso buildanecosystemthat includesalgorithmssoftwarehardware onlythroughachievingfull-industrychainself-control canweensurelong-termhealthydirection fortheSecuritySector.Duringthisprocess collaborativeinnovationamongproduction-study-research sectorswillplayacrucialrole.