DeepRoute.ai, a Shenzhen-based self-driving technology startup, has raised $100 million from an unidentified Chinese automaker. Reuters reports that the company aims to install its self-driving system in as many vehicles as possible in China before Tesla's widespread adoption next year.
China lifted some restrictions on Tesla cars in April, clearing the way for the automaker to launch an advanced driver assistance system called Full Self-Driving (FSD) in China. Tesla announced in September that it plans to roll out FSD in China and Europe in the first quarter of 2025.
Alibaba-backed Deeproot is now racing to put its ADAS in about 200,000 cars in China by the end of 2025, CEO Maxwell Zhou said. told Reuters. This is a 10x increase compared to the 20,000 vehicles currently equipped with the company's technology.
The first vehicle model equipped with DeepRoute's system has not yet been announced, but it went on sale in August. Zhou said the technology will be introduced in two more models this year, including one jointly owned by Geely and Mercedes-Benz.
DeepRoute charges automakers a per-vehicle technology license fee and collects data used to train AI to handle more complex traffic situations.