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Developments by the startup DeepRoute.ai are of interest to Alibaba
Chinese Internet giant Alibaba is interested in local startup DeepRoute.ai, which produces autonomous vehicles. Jack Ma’s corporation has invested a large sum in the developer.
DeepRoute.ai held another round of Series B financing, which resulted in the startup receiving more than $300 million. The funds will be used to further improve autonomous driving technology, as well as to expand the car fleet.
According to DeepRoute’s large-scale strategy, in the near future, the startup will begin developing medium-duty trucks that will perform logistics tasks within the city. It is planned that such drones will take over the delivery of goods without human interaction.
In addition to Alibaba, automobile manufacturer Geely and the technological company Generation Capital evaluated the developer’s potential.
DeepRoute currently has 70 robotic vehicles. Funds received in the course of financing will allow increasing this figure to 150-160 cars. About half of the driverless taxis will be used by the company itself to solve internal tasks, while the rest will be managed by the startup’s partners.
Autonomous cars are one of the most promising and actively developing market segments. Not surprisingly, both car manufacturers and various technology companies are improving their technologies to become more competitive. For example, for Internet giant Alibaba, its investment in DeepRoute is not the first in this segment. The corporation is investing in another local developer of autonomous cars, AutoX, as well as collaborating with electric car firm Xpeng. In addition, Jack Ma’s brainchild is also developing its own logistics business, Cainiao, which develops robotic trucks.
The Chinese robotaxi market is expanding rapidly, with new developers entering the segment, thereby increasing competition. In order to win their place, local car-calling service Didi and Internet corporation Baidu have joined forces to implement a new project in the field of autonomous driving. Investments in the sector are also coming from other companies. Not long ago, WeRide unveiled a new project, Robovan, which is designed to solve urban logistics problems. Nissan is a partner of the startup, and together, the companies plan to launch a new-generation driverless van on the market. In the future, it should be able to operate without human intervention.
In turn, WeRide has been joined by such well-known names in China as ZTO Express and JMC, which see great potential in Robovan. For example, operator ZTO is interested in using the robot truck for urban logistics, while JMC will be responsible for production processes. In addition to the van, WeRide is currently testing the Robobus bus, which has automated controls.