Reuters
The Alibaba Group logo can be seen at the company’s headquarters in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. Waiting for investors to raise $300 million to expand its test fleet and develop technologies including autonomous trucks.
DeepRoute.ai said in a statement that other investors in this round of financing include Jeneration Capital, a technology investor focused on Greater China, Chinese automaker Geely, and some previous investors, but it did not Reveal its valuation.
This investment comes at a time when automakers and technology companies are investing billions of dollars in the field of autonomous driving, aiming to seize opportunities in the future of mobility in the eyes of many people.
DeepRoute.ai's competitor, WeRide, with the support of Nissan Motors, said this month that it would develop self-driving trucks, while Pony.ai, backed by Toyota Motors, said earlier that it would develop self-driving trucks.
DeepRoute.ai CEO Zhou Guang said that DeepRoute.ai, which is testing vehicles in Shenzhen and Wuhan, China, will use the funds to double its fleet of test robot taxis from the current 70 to 150 by the end of this year. Vehicles.
By the end of this year, it will also expand the number of employees from the current 400 to 600, including on-board safety drivers.
DeepRoute.ai was established in 2019 to cooperate with automaker Dongfeng Motor on autonomous driving technology, and it also cooperates with Geely’s online car-hailing division 曹操 .
Zhou told Reuters that DeepRoute.ai will also develop self-driving light trucks for urban logistics services.And added that Alibaba will be a big customer.
Alibaba said in June that it plans to develop self-driving trucks with its logistics subsidiary Cainiao.
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