Xpeng Motors, a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer known for its intelligent driving technologies, has appointed Xianming Liu, head of its “World Foundation Model” project, to lead the company’s autonomous driving center, replacing Liyun Li, who remains with the firm. The change was announced in an internal letter on October 9.
Liu holds a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and previously worked at Meta and Cruise. He joined Xpeng in March 2024 to lead its AI team and has since reported directly to chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng. Xpeng said Liu’s background in machine learning and computer vision makes him well-suited to advance the company’s integration of large foundation models into next-generation intelligent driving systems.
The reshuffle marks the latest leadership change in Xpeng’s autonomous driving unit since vice president Wu Xinzhou left for Nvidia in 2023. It comes as Chinese automakers intensify competition in AI-driven assisted driving, with Xpeng set to showcase progress on its large-scale foundation model at next month’s AI Technology Day. [LatePost, in Chinese]
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