China Roundup: Alibaba joins $300m round of self-driving car firm, and other news

Self-driving car company DeepRoute bags US$300 million from Alibaba, others

• Jeneration Capital, an investor focused on tech companies in greater China, and Geely, a Chinese automaker, also participated in this round.
• Using the fresh funds, DeepRoute plans to more than double its fleet of test robotaxis from 70 to 150 by the end of this year.
• The company also aims to expand its workforce, including in-vehicle safety drivers, from 400 to 600 before the year ends.

Battery firm CATL plans to invest up to US$2 billion to build battery plant in Yichun

• Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) is expected to complete construction of the battery plant in less than 30 months.
• Yichun is a city in China’s southeastern Jiangxi Province. It’s called “Asia’s lithium capital” because it has the world’s largest mine of lepidolite, a lithium-rich mineral that can be extracted to make batteries.
• CATL has also established a joint venture in the city of Suzhou that can build the drive control system of electric vehicles.

Baidu tests robotaxi Apollo Go in Shanghai

• Baidu says that its robotaxis have achieved level 4 capabilities, which doesn’t require human interaction in most cases. However, a human safety operator will be present during the tests in order to comply with local regulations.
• The fleets in Shanghai will be made up of Baidu’s electric vehicle Hongqi.
• A few weeks ago, Baidu expanded its Apollo Go service in Beijing to cover more districts within the city.