Deeproute.ai, a Chinese startup that focuses on self-driving technology, has brought in $100 million in a fresh investment round, bearing testimony to its increased strategic relations with chip manufacturer Nvidia. The round was led by the Great Wall Motor Company in China which indicates that the investors have faith in Deeproute driver assist technology, as well as the potential for its future development. The undisclosed round automaker’s identity has not been revealed as well.
The Chief Executive Officer of Deeproute.ai – Maxwell Zhou shared efforts by the company to enhance its cooperation with Nvidia and in fact there are talks involving Nvidia’s chief executive Jensen Huang. The company, which operates from Shenzhen, has relied on Nvidia’s Orin chip for its autonomous driving systems but will be looking to upgrade to the Thor chip of the next generation in 2025 for a new system, which is currently in the works. This new system will be aimed at making it easier to drive in more challenging conditions by utilizing improved picture processing capabilities in the system.
Established in 2019, Deeproute has made great strides to become one of the dominant players in the competitive autonomous driving market in China. The company has a strong emphasis on AI-enabled solutions that map the environment without the use of high-definition maps which is different from other self-driving car makers like Waymo and Tesla. Because of this, the systems developed by Deeproute can work in regions where such detailed maps have not been mapped out beforehand, which is a critical benefit in terms of cost advantage and scalability.
The startups driver assistance system is already found in about 20,000 vehicles in China, and Zhou believes that figure can grow by 10X by next year. Deeproute is actively pursuing this international expansion, hoping to work with foreign manufacturers and take part in next year’s auto exhibition in Japan.
Moreover, Deeproute’s competitive advantages are also stimulated by robust support coming from Alibaba, which spearheaded a $300 million investment in the company in 2021. After this round, Deeproute’s valuation surmounted the $1 billion mark and the startup can also utilize the AI computing assets of Alibaba to support its development.
Throughout the strategizing, planning, and implementing of Deeproute’s activities, team members have experienced many forces which would fit the definition of challenges, the most significant of which is the US and China bilateral relationships – most of all with respect to semiconductors. It is true that while special advanced semiconductor restrictions applied in this case by the US have some effects to specific AI and chip technologies, still cars’ chip like the one Deeproute is using, has not been affected.
As the race for self-driving cars & AI heats up, the company Deeproute.ai still aims to be a major player in the market with the ambitious objectives of the development and market expansion.
