Gasgoo Munich- At the global automotive sensor summit AutoSens Europe 2026, Velinktech demonstrated the world's first multi-vendor chip-level interoperability based on the OpenGMSL protocol. Meanwhile, a hybrid multi-vendor solution built on this chipset has kicked off design-in testing at a European Tier 1 supplier, positioning it to become the first hybrid solution among all current in-vehicle high-speed SerDes standards to reach mass production.
OpenGMSL council members visit Velinktech's AutoSens booth. From left to right: James Goel (Qualcomm), Enda Ward (Valeo), Paul Fernando (ADI), Chen Jikai (Velinktech), and Vamshi Kandalla (GRL)
The First OpenGMSL Solution Globally, Beyond ADI
In-vehicle high-speed SerDes technology is the critical link for transmitting massive amounts of data over long distances with low latency and high reliability — essential for smart vehicle cameras, displays, and certain high-bandwidth radars. This field has long been dominated by a few proprietary solutions, with automakers generally expecting multi-vendor options that allow interoperability. Against this backdrop, ADI opened up its widely adopted GMSL technology, which has been validated through extensive road testing.
In April 2025, several companies spanning semiconductors, automotive, and testing launched the OpenGMSL Alliance to drive proprietary protocols toward a global open standard. To date, it has attracted over 50 companies, including several leading automakers. That October, the alliance released a protocol draft, followed by the official OpenGMSL 3.0 specification in March 2026.
Reportedly, just three months after obtaining the protocol draft, Velinktech implemented serializer functionality on an FPGA and completed an image capture demonstration over an OpenGMSL link with a mainstream GMSL deserializer. Since then, the company has progressively verified interoperability at three international exhibitions: at CES in Las Vegas in January 2026, Velinktech achieved high-definition image transmission with a GMSL2 deserializer for the first time; at AutoSens in Detroit in June, it completed end-to-end interoperability from image capture to video display; and now at AutoSens in Barcelona, less than a year after the draft's release, Velinktech officially unveiled its chip-level solution.
"As Chairman of the OpenGMSL Alliance, I extend my warmest congratulations to the Velinktech team — you should be proud of this incredible achievement," said Paul Fernando, Chairman of the OpenGMSL Alliance. "This is also a milestone for the alliance, clearly demonstrating the advantages of a technology proven over decades and millions of vehicles."
The newly launched VL7817 series serializer is pin-compatible with mainstream GMSL serializers on the market and supports transmission speeds of up to 12Gb/s. It can be applied to in-vehicle ADAS as well as derivative scenarios like medical imaging, embodied intelligence, and industrial vision. The series inherits the deep analog-digital mixed-signal architecture of the VL7717 series — which has shipped over 1 million units — and builds upon it with optimizations to continue delivering benefits like low power consumption and high reliability. Engineering samples are currently available, with mass production expected in the first half of 2027.
Velinktech's multi-vendor hybrid chip-level OpenGMSL interoperability demonstration
OpenGMSL Design-in Testing Launched at European Tier 1; Velinktech's In-Vehicle SerDes Growth Looks Promising
Beyond product readiness, commercialization is taking off in parallel. Velinktech's cross-vendor interoperability solution has already initiated design-in testing at a European Tier 1 supplier. For automakers, the open value of "mixing chips from different vendors" is now being tested in actual projects. It has been six years since the MIPI Alliance released A-PHY — the world's first standard for in-vehicle high-speed SerDes. The launch of this project is set to become the first instance of a multi-vendor hybrid solution among all standards in this field over those six years, a significance that speaks for itself.
Reportedly, the first secured project will use Velinktech's serializer and a mainstream GMSL deserializer, targeting multi-camera surround-view and ADAS applications, with vehicle integration as early as 2027. Following validation on the initial batch of vehicles, the rollout will expand to more models. Meanwhile, Velinktech's product development based on OpenGMSL is proceeding in sync, with plans to gradually refine its product portfolio.
From mass-producing the world's first A-PHY chip with a track record of over 1 million zero-defect units, to releasing the world's first OpenGMSL chip and entering design-in testing with a European Tier 1 within a year, Velinktech is leveraging its years of extensive expertise and rapid growth in the in-vehicle high-speed SerDes sector.
Velinktech began laying the groundwork for in-vehicle high-speed SerDes chip R&D in 2020 and is one of the few domestic vendors capable of proprietary development and high-volume mass production. In July 2025, its self-developed chip achieved mass production in the Lynk & Co 06 — a popular model under Geely Auto Group's Lynk & Co brand (specifically the 2026 Relive model). This made it the first MIPI A-PHY automotive-grade SerDes chip to achieve large-scale mass production globally. Since then, it has expanded to models like the Geely Galaxy Xingyuan.
With the release of this OpenGMSL chip, Velinktech has become a multi-mode SerDes chip vendor supporting three major public protocols: MIPI A-PHY, HSMT, and OpenGMSL. Its product rates cover 2 to 16Gbps, meeting various in-vehicle high-speed transmission needs ranging from low- to high-pixel cameras and from 2K instrument clusters to 10K cockpit displays. This helps automakers adopt a unified product system across different technology roadmaps, reducing the risk of being locked into a single standard or supplier.
To date, Velinktech has shipped nearly 2 million in-vehicle high-speed SerDes chips, delivering them in volume on flagship models from several leading automakers while maintaining a zero-defect record.
Market demand is set to surge. Velinktech forecasts shipments of approximately 5 million in-vehicle high-speed SerDes chips for the full year of 2026. Based on current orders, shipments are projected to exceed 20 million in 2027.
With the launch of a production-ready chip and the first design-in win in Europe, the OpenGMSL open ecosystem is moving from specification documents to the assembly line. For China's automotive chip industry, Velinktech's entry into the global supply chain — by securing design-ins from international customers and co-building an open ecosystem — offers a new model for transitioning from "domestic substitution" to "ecosystem co-construction."
