DeepRoute.ai, a Shenzhen-based self-driving technology startup, has raised $100 million from Great Wall Motors. 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.
Deeproot has not disclosed the names of the automakers it supports, but Chinese media reports, including press releases, have pointed to Great Wall Motors. The company is one of China's largest automakers, with sales of 970,612 new cars in the first 10 months of this year. GWM is collaborating with BMW to produce the next mini EV hatchback, and its presence in Europe is increasing.
Alibaba-backed Deeproot initially pursued R&D and development of Level 4 robotaxis, but in 2022 the company changed its strategy and instead focused on producing Level 2+ and Level 3 self-driving technology. I focused on it. (SAE defines a Level 4 system as one that does not require a human to take over and can operate autonomously in certain situations. ).
A DeepRoute spokesperson told TechCrunch that the startup will use the funding to develop an end-to-end visual language action model. The model can directly interpret visual and verbal inputs to make driving decisions without the separate steps required for perception, planning, and control. DeepRoute also plans to use the funding to explore the potential of future robotaxi operations globally and collaborate with more automakers.
This last goal has become the startup's top priority, especially as Tesla's driver assistance system called Fully Self-Driving (FSD) prepares to launch in China and Europe in the first quarter of 2025. It seems there is. China has lifted some restrictions. It was installed in Tesla cars in April, paving the way for automakers to deploy FSD. Although FSD is not actually fully autonomous, it performs some self-driving tasks in cities and highways.
Deeproot is now racing to install its ADAS in about 200,000 cars in China by the end of 2025, CEO Maxwell Zhou told Reuters. Ta. 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.
This article was originally published on November 4th at 9:11am PT. Updated to include more information about DeepRoute backers and goals.