Didi Autonomous Driving, the self-driving unit of Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi, announced on October 11 that it has raised RMB 2 billion (US$275 million) in a Series D funding round. Investors include the Zhongguancun Science City Growth Fund, Beijing Information Industry Development Fund, Beijing Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund, GAC Group, Guangzhou Guanghua Fund, and Didi. The company said the funds will be used to boost AI research and accelerate the commercial rollout of Level 4 autonomous driving applications.
Since the beginning of this year, Didi has begun fully driverless tests in Beijing and Guangzhou, covering a wide range of real-world traffic conditions, including rush hours, late-night operations, and heavy rain. CEO Zhang Bo, who is also Didi’s co-founder, said L4 autonomous driving represents one of the most important technological shifts of the next AI decade. Its jointly developed L4 production vehicle with GAC Aion is expected to be delivered by the end of 2025 for pilot operations in cities such as Beijing and Guangzhou. [TechNode reporting]
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