AutoX is planning to install Level 4 autonomous commercial vehicles with the help of Dongfeng motors
AutoX's driver-less grocery delivery vehicle. PHOTO: AutoX official website
According to 36Kr, autonomous driving Solution Company "AutoX" announced that it had received USD tens of millions of dollars in A3 rounds of financing from Dongfeng a few months ago. After the financing, Dongfeng and AutoX together plan to mass-produce Level 4 autonomous commercial vehicles. AutoX also plans to expand to the domestic market in Shenzhen.
The driverless solution company was founded in 2016 by Xiao Jianxiong, a former assistant professor of Princeton University, the alumnus of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has built the company to make driverless technology accessible worldwide.
AutoX completed its USD 34 million A round of funding in 2017 and its investors include MediaTek and SAIC Capital, an investment firm of the state-owned Chinese carmaker.
It announced the two top domestic carmakers, SAIC and Dongfeng, as its strategic shareholders, which is similar to the cooperation strategy between, Cruise Automation, an American driverless car company, GM and Honda. XIAO Jianxiong, founder and CEO of the company, said that they are talking with other domestic and foreign car manufacturers and want to make the driverless technology a common platform, just like the Windows system installed in the car.
In addition to the cooperation with SAIC and Dongfeng, reported by the company itself, on March 28 BYD, the world’s largest manufacturer of electric vehicles announced a partnership with AutoX to design its fully electric sedan “Qin pro”. AutoX told 36Kr that the production-ready “Qin Pro” can use AutoX technology to complete an autonomous upgrade in just one day.
At the end of January 2019, Autox officially established its research and development headquarters in Nanshan district of Shenzhen city and designated an autonomous demonstration zone to build large scale autonomous demonstration vehicles fleet.
According to ZTnet, in late August 2018, Autox announced began delivering groceries via its Level 4 autonomous vehicles in San Jose. Unlike most self-driving companies, which use laser arrays and sophisticated sensors, AutoX uses comparatively cheap cameras and relies on its AI to navigate the world around it.
Officials of the company claim that AutoX is the only Chinese autonomous company to be certified by the US Department of Transportation and The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration L4 driverless standards. The standard is the most stringent security requirement issued worldwide by an authoritative government department. This standard is the most strict security requirement issued by authoritative government agencies around the world.
AutoX has entered into a new round of financing up to hundreds of millions of dollars they, using it for talents recruitment in technology, operations, business, and government relations, and plans to expand the team to hundreds of people, AutoX officially announced.
The company is among quite a few autonomous driving start-ups that have come to existence in China after the country made smart vehicles one of its key development areas. It rivals with; Roadstar, Pony.ai, and Momenta.