Report: Chinese self-driving platform WeRide acquires autonomous trucking firm

Details:

• Qingxiong Yang, founder and CEO of MoonX.ai, will serve as the vice president of WeRide and the dean of the WeRide Research Institute. Yang will also be responsible for developing WeRide’s autonomous driving products.
• The acquisition will bring 50 engineers from MoonX.ai over to WeRide.

Dive deeper:

• MoonX.ai operates a fleet of over 20 self-driving passenger vehicles and trucks, with which the company aims to transform the freight industry. However, any meaningful application of robotics and AI hinges on near-zero failure rates. (Read: This tech could be the secret ingredient to the mass adoption of robots)
• AI and autonomous driving technology have garnered quite a bit of attention in recent years, with the Elon Musk-led Tesla leading the charge globally. Peter Ho, CEO of engineering firm Hope Technik, has been dubbed the Elon Musk and Tony Stark of Singapore, having overseen the development of products ranging from robots and sensors to vehicles. (Read: The Elon Musk of Singapore looks to engineer the next deep-tech unicorn)