A company known for outdoor apparel now sees its chip business revenue growing over 200%, accounting for more than one-third of total revenue. Toread's Q1 2026 report shows chip revenue of 179 million yuan, up 206.92% year-on-year, nearly 25 times faster than its outdoor segment's 8.02% growth. Behind these figures lies the real signal that edge AI large-model compression technology is moving from lab to industrialization.
Technical Breakthrough: Unblocking the Computation Bottleneck
The core challenge for deploying large models on edge devices is not insufficient computing power but bandwidth and memory bottlenecks caused by data movement. The strategic agreement between Shanghai Tongtu and Horizon Robotics targets this pain point. Tongtu's full-stack compression system covers three levels: input data compressed to one-fifth, intermediate data reduced by 50% beyond Google's compression results, and billion-parameter models compressed by 30% without retraining. These metrics mean edge devices can run larger models without additional hardware costs.
Horizon Robotics, a domestic leader in automotive AI chips, reported 2025 revenue of 3.758 billion yuan, up 57.7% year-on-year. In 2026, it launched the cockpit-driving fusion chip "Starry 6P" and the vehicle intelligent operating system "Kaxiaxie." The technical integration will directly optimize inference efficiency of large models on automotive-grade chips. For the automotive electronics supply chain, this means the computational ceiling for intelligent driving systems is being raised.
Industry Impact: From Chips to End Equipment
Since establishing its dual-main business strategy of "outdoor + chip" in 2021, Toread has acquired five chip-related companies, building a chip matrix covering perception, interaction, and display. Tongtu's compression technology serves not only as an independent growth driver but also directly supports the company's second-generation intelligent sports exoskeleton and outdoor smart shoes. During the 618 shopping festival, the self-developed Crest C3 exoskeleton sold over 100 units in a single day on Tmall, weighing only 1.8 kg with a thrust-to-weight ratio of 10:1.
Full-chain self-reliance from underlying chips to end products is becoming reality. For the textile and apparel industry, this trend is noteworthy: the combination of smart wearables and functional fabrics may create new product categories. Toread predicts China's edge AI market will grow from 600 billion yuan in 2026 to 2.1 trillion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate exceeding 28%.
Performance Validation: Analysts Raise Expectations
Technical confidence is ultimately validated by financial data. In Q1, Toread achieved revenue of 496 million yuan, up 39.41% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was 56.45 million yuan, up 14.44%; and non-GAAP net profit was 63.94 million yuan, up 32.36%. Chip revenue accounted for 36.09% of total revenue, becoming the primary growth driver.
Institutional investors responded positively. On June 17, Toread hosted 11 institutional investors. Huaxi Securities maintained a "buy" rating, forecasting net profit of 237 million, 369 million, and 454 million yuan for 2025-2027. CICC raised its 2026 revenue forecast by 29% to 1.952 billion yuan and EPS forecast by 60% to 0.15 yuan.