Didi’s autonomous vehicle arm raises $149M from state investors. The autonomous vehicle business that Didi established in 2020 was viewed as China’s answer to Uber’s AV division. Since then, the winds of change have swept over China’s digital industry, with internet companies facing a flood of regulatory scrutiny and a decline in international investment amid deteriorating US-China ties. Didi’s AV division stayed hidden during Beijing’s data security investigation into its parent company, but it has eventually withstood the storm and is currently receiving new funding.
Didi Autonomous Driving, which had previously received funding from SoftBank, today revealed that it would be receiving up to $149 million in funding from two parties connected to the municipal administration of Guangzhou, a major city in southern China: GAC Group’s wholly-owned subsidiary GAC Capital and Guangzhou Development District Investment Group.
A good working relationship with the local authorities is essential to get a company’s robotaxi on the road in China. Although it wasn’t explicitly stated in the release, it won’t come as a surprise to see Didi’s robotaxi deployment speed in the megacity with 18 million residents. The commercial use of Didi’s self-driving cars began in March in Guangzhou’s Huadu District.
Didi wants to use the additional funds to “deeply invest in research and development, accelerate the implementation of related products, pursue open collaborations in the industry chain, build a sustainable and open industry ecosystem, and expedite the widespread commercial use of autonomous driving technology.”
Didi announced plans in April to make self-developed robotaxis available to the public 24/7 by 2025. It has formed relationships with a few OEMs, including Lincoln, BYD, Nissan, and Volvo, to manufacture the hardware. When it became known in May that it had established a joint venture with the automaker’s electric vehicle unit Aion to create plugged-in robotaxis in large quantities, its links to GAC were strengthened.