Alibaba-backed self-driving startup opens its robotaxi service to the Chinese public

Alibaba-backed Chinese self-driving startup AutoX today opened its fully driverless robotaxi pilot program in Shenzhen to allow the general public to book an autonomous taxi ride.

The company claims that it is the first time for a driverless robotaxi to operate on public roads in China.

Photo credit: AutoX

In a video released by AutoX, the autonomous vehicle takes left turns at intersections, makes side passes on streets, and deals with a scooter running traffic lights. It’s a Level 4 and Level 5 driverless car that is equipped with cameras, lidar and radar sensors, as well as a blind-spot perception system on each side of the car, according to the video.

In July last year, the Chinese startup became the third firm to receive a test permit in California – following Waymo and Nuro – to operate its autonomous vehicles without a human safety driver.

In 2019, AutoX closed US$100 million in a series A financing round from state-owned Dongfeng Motor, Alibaba, and Plug and Play’s China fund. The round was followed by an eight-figure pre-series B round led by Hongzhao Fund last year.

Founded in 2016, AutoX competes with Baidu’s Baidu Apollo, which just today received the approval to test its driverless vehicles on public roads without a safety driver in California.

There’s also Didi Chuxing, which raised over US$500 million from SoftBank for its autonomous driving subsidiary, as well as WeRide, which completed a total of US$310 million in its series B round earlier this month.