On July 27, 2022, a car equipped with the DeepRoute.ai self-driving system powered by Alibaba drove on the streets of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China.
David Cotton | Reuters
BEIJING — Deeproute.ai, a Chinese startup developing self-driving systems, announced Tuesday it has secured $100 million in financing from an unnamed automaker while emphasizing its close relationship with the chipmaker. NVIDIA.
Pitchbook data shows Chinese companies Great Wall Motors Lead investment.
DeepRoute.ai CEO Maxwell Zhou told reporters in Mandarin on Tuesday that it is very difficult to obtain financing, especially from non-governmental channels (translated by CNBC).
The startup also has “deep collaboration” with Nvidia, Zhou said, noting “in-depth discussions” with the chipmaker’s CEO Jensen Huang.
Mr. Zhou talked about “Commercialization of mass-produced autonomous driving solutions” At Nvidia’s much-watched GTC AI conference in March.
Shenzhen-based Deepproute said its current driver assistance systems use Nvidia’s Orin chips.
The startup added that it is the first company in China to obtain Nvidia’s new automotive Thor chip and will release a new system next year using the chip that can use more visual cues to manage more complex driving scenarios.
“Many companies in China are competing in autonomous driving. This is actually an artificial intelligence competition,” Zhou said.
In terms of AI computing power, Deepproute said it has its own capabilities and can mine Alibabaif needed. The e-commerce and cloud computing company led a $300 million investment round in Deepproute in 2021, giving it a valuation of more than $1 billion just two years after its founding in 2019, according to the startup.
The United States in October 2022 imposed sweeping restrictions on China’s ability to obtain the most advanced semiconductors from Nvidia and other American companies. Automotive chips currently do not fall into this category.
Nvidia is scheduled to release earnings for the quarter ended October 27 on November 20.
Look at Japan
Deeproute currently partners with Chinese automakers for sales in China. The company expects at least three vehicles using its driver-assist systems to hit the road this year.
Deeproute’s system is already running on more than 20,000 cars on the road, Zhou said. He predicts that number could increase tenfold next year.
The startup, which has offices in California, said it is looking to partner with foreign automakers and plans to participate in next year’s Japanese auto show.
Tesla Competition
Deeproute has been focusing on using artificial intelligence to drive autonomous vehicles without relying on “high-definition maps”. This allows vehicles to use driver assistance technology on roads where these technical parameters have not yet been created.
This is a trend among automotive technology companies, e.g. Xpeng Motors and Huawei are pursuing — and TeslaStrategy for developing autonomous driving. Elon Musk’s car company is focused on using cameras and artificial intelligence to drive its vehicles, rather than relying heavily on high-definition maps.
The maps, used by self-driving companies such as Alphabet’s Waymo, provide cars with detailed pictures of city streets. But they need to be created before the car hits the road, a process that can add cost.
Zhou said the company is very eager to bring Tesla’s driving assistance product “Full Self-Driving” to China. His reasoning is that Tesla’s products will encourage more consumers to become more interested in driver assistance features and increase Deepproute’s visibility in the field.
When asked about IPO plans, Zhou said the startup would maintain its own pace of development, but it welcomed the latest public offerings from other industry players.
Chinese autonomous driving software developer Wen Yuanxing Self-driving taxi operator Pony.ai has filed for a U.S. initial public offering (IPO) after listing on Nasdaq last month.
Industry focuses on driving assistance
Companies in China’s auto industry are increasingly looking to driver assistance technology as a way to stay competitive in the market.
Pony.ai announced a cooperation agreement on Saturday Large-scale development of fully automatic robot axes and the new energy vehicle subsidiary of state-owned BAIC Motor.
Tencent on Monday Announced expansion of strategic cooperation Partnering with German automotive supplier Bosch to develop autonomous driving and technology-enabled cockpits. The two companies agreed to strategic cooperation in 2020 for the first time.
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