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☆ Chinese driver-assist startup announces $100 million in funding, touts 'deep cooperation' with Nvidia
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-05 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

David Kirton | ReutersBEIJING — Deeproute.ai, a Chinese startup developing autonomous driving systems, announced a $100 million funding round Tuesday from an undisclosed automaker, while emphasizing close ties with chipmaker Nvidia . The startup is also in "deep cooperation" with Nvidia, Zhou said, noting "in-depth discussions" with the chipmaker's CEO Jensen Huang. Zhou spoke on "Commercializing mass-produced autonomous driving solutions" at Nvidia's closely watched GTC AI conference in March. Those maps, used by autonomous driving companies such as Alphabet's Waymo, give a car a detailed picture of city streets. Chinese autonomous driving software developer WeRide went public on the Nasdaq last month, while robotaxi operator Pony.ai has filed for a U.S. IPO.

Persons: David Kirton, It's, Maxwell Zhou, Zhou, Jensen Huang, Deeproute, Orin, Japan Deeproute, Tesla, Elon, WeRide, Pony.ai Organizations: Reuters, Nvidia, Wall, CNBC, Huawei, Nasdaq, Industry Locations: Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, Reuters BEIJING, Deeproute, U.S, Japan, California

☆ Chinese IPOs in the U.S. and Hong Kong are set to increase next year, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-29 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

China News Service | China News Service | Getty ImagesBEIJING — Chinese IPOs in the U.S. and Hong Kong are set to increase next year, analysts said, as some high-profile listings outside the mainland this year raise investor optimism over profitable exits. Last week, Horizon Robotics — a Chinese artificial intelligence and auto chip developer — and state-owned bottled water company CR Beverage went public in Hong Kong. The firm noted that Chinese delivery giant SF Express is planning for a Hong Kong IPO next month, while Chinese automaker Chery aims for one next year. Still, the overall pace of Hong Kong IPOs this year is slightly slower than expected, George Chan, global IPO leader at EY, told CNBC in an interview earlier this month. Hong Kong, then New York

Persons: Pony.ai, Didi, Marcia Ellis, Morrison Foerster, George Chan, Chan Organizations: Nasdaq, China News Service, Getty, U.S, Hong Kong Stock Exchange, CR Beverage, Renaissance, Hong, Chery, CNBC, IPOs Locations: BEIJING, U.S, Hong Kong, China, New York, Mainland China, New

☆ Blast from past Ingram Micro returns to trading, but IPO market still struggling with valuation concerns
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-24 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Ingram Micro began trading Thursday at the NYSE under the symbol INGM, surging as much as 17% from its $22 initial public offering price . Still no signs of IPO life, despite record highs for stocks Unfortunately, Ingram is not going to change the IPO dynamic. Pre-covid, a normal year would see roughly $50 billion raised. Recent large IPOs (amount raised, and gain from IPO price) KinderCare $576 m. +20.7% StandardAero $1.4 b. In 2021, private capital was able to raise record funding for tech companies, which became benchmarks for private valuations.

Persons: Imgram, Ingram, Matt Kennedy, BlackRock, Kennedy Organizations: Ingram Micro, NYSE, Tianjin Tianhai Investment Company, HNA, Equity, KinderCare, Renaissance Capital, HPS Investment Partners Locations: Tianjin, IPOs, China

☆ Here’s why China has been testing its autonomous car technology in the U.S. for years
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-23 | by ( Magdalena Petrova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Chinese companies are aggressively developing autonomous vehicles. In August, China announced that it had issued 16,000 test licenses for driverless cars and opened up about 20,000 miles of roads nationwide for autonomous vehicle testing. But Chinese autonomous vehicle companies have also quietly been testing their technology on U.S. streets. Michael Dunne, CEO and founder of consulting firm Dunne Insights, told CNBC that China had "carte blanche" when it comes to testing AVs in California. Missy Cummings, a former senior safety advisor to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, told CNBC the ban was a good start.

Persons: Didi, WeRide, Michael Dunne, Dunne, Let's, Missy Cummings, Cummings, Marc Veasey, Biden Organizations: Baidu, California Department of Motor Vehicles, CNBC, Apple, U.S, National, Traffic Safety Administration Locations: China, California, Silicon, Texas, U.S, California , Nevada, Utah, United States

For a decade, Elon Musk has championed the idea that one day Tesla cars will drive themselves as robotaxis. In the decade that Musk has promised driverless vehicles, competitors have made them. Alphabet -owned Waymo already operates a commercial robotaxi service in several U.S. cities, surpassing 100,000 paid rides per week as of August. Amazon -owned Zoox began testing rides for employees in February 2023 with ambitions to launch its own robotaxi service. Watch the video to see the road Tesla has taken to realizing its robotaxi ambitions.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Zoox, Raymond James Organizations: Baidu, U.S, EV, Tesla Locations: China

☆ Tesla stock slips after EV maker misses estimates on deliveries
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-02 | by ( Lora Kolodny | In Lorakolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In the year-ago period , Tesla reported 435,059 deliveries and production of 430,488 EVs. Last quarter, the company reported 443,956 deliveries, and production of 410,831 vehicles. Deliveries are not defined in Tesla's financial disclosures, but are the closest approximation to units sold reported by the company. Analysts were expecting deliveries of 463,310 in the period ended Sept. 30, according to estimates compiled by FactSet StreetAccount. Tesla posted its third-quarter vehicle production and deliveries report on Wednesday.

Persons: Tesla, Li Auto, FactSet StreetAccount, Ford, Tesla hasn't, Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Musk Organizations: Li, Tesla, EV, Ford, General Motors, GM, Nasdaq, Hyundai Locations: China, Seattle , Washington, US, U.S

☆ Tesla set to report Q3 deliveries ahead of robotaxi event
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-01 | by ( Lora Kolodny | In Lorakolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Analysts are expecting Elon Musk's automaker to report about 463,310 deliveries, according to estimates compiled by FactSet StreetAccount. Tesla reported deliveries of 435,059 and production of 430,488 vehicles for the same period a year ago, before it was selling the Cybertruck. More recently, Tesla reported deliveries of 443,956 and production of 410,831 vehicles for the second quarter of 2024. Goldman Sachs last week said it expects Tesla deliveries and production "to come in-line with consensus, largely driven by the strength in the China market." Tesla brand erosionSome customer interest in buying Tesla vehicles has been chilled by the brand's strong association with Musk.

Persons: Elon Musk, Tesla, Elon, FactSet StreetAccount, Wells, Goldman Sachs, tacking, Musk —, —, he's, Donald Trump, Musk, Mike DeWine Organizations: Trump, Tesla's, EVs, Warner Bros, Baidu, SpaceX, Associated Press, CNN, NBC News, The New York Times, Twitter, The Washington Post, Springfield Police Division, Ohio Gov, Pew Research Locations: Manhattan , New York, U.S, China, Los Angeles, Springfield , Ohio

☆ Tesla says it will launch Full Self Driving product in Europe and China early next year
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-05 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Tesla said it will launch its "Full Self Driving" driver assistance product in Europe and China early next year. Tesla is yet to receive regulatory permission to launch its FSD product in Europe and China, but Musk in July said that he expects to get this clearance by the end of 2024. So-called Full Self Driving, or FSD, has been a key pillar of Musk's strategy to make Tesla a more AI-centric company and push toward self-driving technology. Despite the label on its product, FSD is not actually capable of making its vehicles fully autonomous. FSD is an upgrade to Tesla's Autopilot driver assistant, which is already available in Europe and China.

Persons: Tesla, Musk Organizations: Elon, Drivers Locations: Europe, China, U.S

The fleet of 500 vehicles operating in the city belongs to Apollo Go, a unit of Chinese tech giant Baidu (BIDU). There have also been complaints from residents in Wuhan about traffic jams, as driverless cars fail to respond to traffic lights. Uncertainty over the safety and reliability of driverless cars has cast a long shadow over the industry in the US. Last week, authorities in Shanghai’s Pudong New Area started handing out licenses to driverless car operators, including Apollo Go and Alibaba-backed AutoX, according to state media China Daily. California-based startup Pony.ai, backed by Toyota and Saudi Arabia, was also given the green light to test driverless vehicles in the financial hub.

Persons: You’ll, ” Tu Le, robotaxi, Apollo Go’s, Apollo, Waymo, Elon Musk, Go Organizations: Hong Kong CNN —, Weibo, Baidu, Global Times, Sino, CNN, National Bureau of Statistics, Apollo Go, United, GM, Department of Justice, McKinsey, Pudong New Area, Toyota, Beijing Municipal Bureau of, Information Technology, People’s Daily Locations: China, Hong Kong, Wuhan, Weibo, United States, United Arab Emirates, California, Beijing, Shenzhen, Pudong, . California, Saudi Arabia, Bao’an district, People’s

☆ Tesla shareholders vote to reinstate Elon Musk’s $56 billion pay package
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Lora Kolodny | In Lorakolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Tesla shareholders on Thursday voted to ratify CEO Elon Musk's mammoth 2018 pay plan, five months after a judge in Delaware ordered the company to rescind the package, finding it had been improperly granted by the board. Watch Elon Musk speak at the Tesla shareholder meeting nowThe compensation package was previously worth as much as $56 billion in Tesla stock. However, during last year's meeting, Musk promised shareholders he would spend less time on the app going forward, calling the business a "short-term distraction." Regarding the Cybertruck, which hit the market in late 2023, Musk said deliveries are picking up. Musk promised Tesla would move into "limited production" of Optimus in 2025 and test out humanoid robots in its own factories next year.

Persons: Elon, Musk, Judge Kathaleen McCormick, didn't, Tesla, He's, Pony.ai, Didi, Waymo, Optimus, Cathie Wood Organizations: ., Shareholders, SpaceX, Tesla, ARK Locations: Delaware, Austin , Texas, China, Texas

☆ China's capital city is opening a robotaxi route to a major train station, startup Pony.ai says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Robotaxi operator Pony.ai has begun testing rides with human staff inside between a suburb of Beijing and a major high-speed train station. By the end of this year or early next year, Zhang expects the train station route will be fully driverless, with no human staff inside. BEIJING — In three years, China's capital city of Beijing has taken rapid steps toward letting robotaxis operate closer to the city center. By the end of this year, Zhang expects the city will allow robotaxi operation around Beijing Capital International Airport to the north. In three to five years, Zhang expects Beijing will allow robotaxis throughout the city.

Persons: Pony.ai, Zhang, Ning Zhang, WeRide Organizations: Beijing South Railway, CNBC, BEIJING —, Daxing International, Baidu, Beijing Capital International Airport, Toyota Locations: Beijing, Yizhuang, Pony.ai, BEIJING, China

☆ Pony.ai plans to begin Robotaxi services by 2025
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailPony.ai plans to begin Robotaxi services by 2025Evelyn Cheng reports on the developments of Pony.ai's robotaxis.

Persons: Evelyn Cheng

☆ Baidu’s robotaxi unit expects to turn profitable next year
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A driverless robotaxi autonomous vehicle developed by Baidu Apollo driving along a street in Beijing. SHANGHAI — Chinese tech company Baidu said Wednesday its Apollo Go robotaxi arm expects to turn profitable next year. The projection comes as Elon Musk has emphasized his plans to build up Tesla's robotaxi efforts amid a decline in revenue. Baidu on Wednesday announced Apollo's 6th generation robotaxi will cost around 200,000 yuan ($28,169) — or less than half that of the prior generation, the company said. Others in the auto industry remain more skeptical about fully driverless cars, which require broad regulatory approval in order to operate.

Persons: Elon Musk, Apollo, Baidu, Brian Gu Organizations: Baidu, Wednesday, China Securities Regulatory Commission, Xpeng Locations: Beijing, SHANGHAI, Wuhan, China

☆ Chinese tech startups quietly stop testing driverless cars on Californian roads
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewChina’s leading ride-hailing firm has dropped out of a program that allows it to test self-driving vehicles on Californian public roads. Ride-hailing giant Didi has withdrawn from California’s autonomous vehicle testing program, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, as several rival Chinese firms also scaled back their self-driving operations in the state. Future Publishing/Getty imagesDidi is not the only Chinese company that appears to be scaling back autonomous vehicle testing in California, or pulling out entirely. That's a significant decline from the previous year, when Chinese autonomous vehicle companies conducted over 450,000 miles of testing. AdvertisementHe said that public backlash toward autonomous vehicles in cities like San Francisco had increased the risks of negative PR for companies testing the technology on public roads.

Persons: —, Didi, WeRide, AutoX —, That's, Sesame, Bob Latta, Cruise, that's, ” John Helveston, ” Helveston Organizations: Service, California Department of Motor Vehicles, Business, DMV, Baidu, Future Publishing, Pegasus Technology, NBC, Republican, Anadolu, Getty, George Washington University Locations: California, Shanghai, China, Jiaxing, San Francisco

☆ 2023 has been an AI feeding frenzy, here are the startups that attracted the most investment this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Despite an overall slump in startup funding, 2023 saw a scramble among investors to pour money into AI and machine learning startups. And the company's star still appears to be rising, despite a messy leadership struggle that recently spilled into public view. Meanwhile OpenAI's perennial rival Anthropic attracted multi-billion dollar investments from both Google and Amazon to fund a competing AI model known as Claude. At the same time legacy companies from John Deere to accounting firm PwC played up their AI bona fides to capitalize on the hype. The list doesn't include startups who have not publicly released the amount of their funding rounds.

Persons: OpenAI, Anthropic, Claude, Databricks, John Deere, PwC, Fresh Organizations: Microsoft, Google, Alpha, Technology, Monogram, Sigma, Lambda, Helsing, Metals, Eagle Eye, Amelia, Asimov, Farmers Business, Harbinger, Prins, Silo, Mistral, Alto, AMP, Management Software, Universal, Coro, Kodiak Robotics, Aerospace, Defense, Sana, Corti, Kyte, Mitra, Tech, Boss Digital Technology, Halcyon, & $ Locations: PitchBook

☆ China's AI 'war of a hundred models' heads for a shakeout
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Additionally, companies have also announced dozens of "industry-specific LLMs" that link to their core model. However, investors and analysts say that most were yet to find viable business models, were too similar to each other and were now grappling with surging costs. Several other big name entrepreneurs and tech executives are behind new Chinese AI startups, such as Google China's former chief Kai-Fu Lee and Yan Juejie, a former vice-president of SenseTime (0020.HK). Others said that China's largest tech companies Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu ultimately had the biggest headstart and deep pockets to succeed, given their large user bases and wide range of services. For instance, they could easily offer generative AI services as an additional plug-in to their cloud users.

Persons: Baidu's, Robin Li, Ernie Bot, Tingshu Wang, OpenAI's, Esme Pau, Pau, Yuan Hongwei, Meta, Baichuan, Wang Xiaochuan, China's, Wang, Yuan, Kai, Fu Lee, Yan Juejie, SenseTime, Tony Tung, Tung, Josh Ye, Brenda Goh, Sam Holmes Organizations: Baidu, REUTERS, HK, Huawei, Nvidia, China, Macquarie Group, Y, Baichuan Intelligence, Inc, Sogou, Google, Partners, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, HONG KONG, Alibaba, United States, Washington, Shenzhen

☆ China's capital city is letting the public take fully driverless robotaxis — and has bigger rollout plans, startup Pony.ai says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty ImagesBEIJING — China's capital city is taking swift steps to allow robotaxi businesses to grow. As of Tuesday, the suburban Beijing city district of Yizhuang is officially letting local robotaxi operators — primarily Baidu and startup Pony.ai — charge fares for fully autonomous taxis, with no human staff inside. "We have very high confidence ... maybe only in three years, our full driverless vehicles are going to be running over the whole Beijing city," he said in an interview with CNBC on Monday. Out of more than 200 robotaxis that Pony.ai operates in the region, only about ten are currently fully driverless, Zhang said. Beijing city did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.

Persons: Ning Zhang, Beijing's, Zhang, Yin Yong, Pony.ai, Baidu, Alphabet's Waymo, Pony.ai's Zhang, —, Leswing, Lora Kolodny Organizations: Visual China, Getty, BEIJING, Baidu, CNBC, Daxing International, robotaxis, General Motors, California Department of Motor Vehicles, Beijing Daxing, Google Locations: Beijing, Yizhuang, Pony.ai, Yizhuang district, Daxing, U.S, San Francisco, California, China, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shanghai

☆ Shares of China's food delivery leader Meituan fall more than 5% on weaker Q3 outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Revenue was 67.96 billion Chinese yuan ($9.33 billion), up 33.4% from 50.93 billion yuan posted in the same period a year ago. The firm also swung to profit of 4.69 billion Chinese yuan for the second quarter, compared to a loss of 1.11 billion Chinese yuan a year ago. Many merchants had to suspend their business, while consumers chose to stock packaged food instead of ordering fresh food delivery. Meituan leads China's food delivery market, holding almost 70% of the market share in the mainland, according to a 2022 report on Meituan. Besides food delivery, the tech firm also operates various services including ride-hailing, on-demand delivery, hotel and travel booking, movie ticketing, entertainment and lifestyle services.

Persons: Yan Cong, Wang Xing, Wang, Meituan, Doksuri, Xiaolin Chen, Chen, CNBC's, Pony.ai Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty, Revenue, Consumers, Hong, HK, Fitch Locations: Beijing, China, Yan, Hong Kong, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Henan, KraneShares

☆ Toyota, Pony.Ai to set up robotaxi JV with $139 mln investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

file photo: A logo of the autonomous driving technology startup Pony.ai is seen on a screen during an event in Beijing, China May 13, 2021. REUTERS/Tingshu WangBEIJING, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Autonomous vehicle technology startup Pony.Ai on Friday said it would set up a joint venture with Japan's Toyota Motor (7203.T) with an investment of 1 billion yuan ($139 million) to mass produce robotaxis. The venture marks a new development in the partnership between Pony.Ai and Toyota, which first teamed up in 2019. In the years since, the Japanese automaker has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Pony.Ai. Pony.Ai, which has offices in China and the United States, has launched robotaxi services in Beijing and Guangzhou.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Pony.Ai, Liz Lee, Tom Hogue, Christopher Cushing Organizations: REUTERS, Japan's Toyota, Guangzhou Automobile Group, GAC, Toyota, Pony.Ai, Beijing, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Tingshu Wang BEIJING, Pony.Ai, United States, Guangzhou

☆ Pony.ai gets permit for driverless robotaxi services in China's Guangzhou
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 26 (Reuters) - Robotaxi startup Pony.ai said on Wednesday that it had received a permit to operate fully driverless ride-hailing services in China's Guangzhou city. The Toyota Motor Corp-backed (7203.T) startup, which has operations in China and the U.S., now has permits for fully driverless robotaxis in China's capital Beijing and Guangzhou. Pony.ai started driverless testing in Guangzhou in June 2021 and has accumulated nearly 200,000 fee-charging robotaxi orders globally as of this month, the company said in a statement. Both companies won permits for driverless taxi services in Beijing last month. California-based Pony.ai's next generation robotaxi model has obtained on-road testing licenses in Beijing and Guangzhou, it said, adding that robotaxi services with the model were expected to commence in the near future.

☆ Chinese ride-hailing giant DiDi developing own driverless taxis, plans to roll them out in 2025
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Chinese ride-hailing giant DiDi debuted the DiDi Neuron, a concept robotaxi. DiDi is working with Chinese carmakers to develop its own autonomous taxis which it is aiming to put into service in 2025. DiDi Global on Thursday said it is developing its own self-driving taxis alongside Chinese carmakers and it plans to roll them out in 2025 on its ride-hailing service. The Chinese giant's autonomous driving unit also showed off a concept robotaxi, or driverless taxi, called DiDi Neuron. DiDi set up its autonomous driving unit in 2016 and spun it off into a wholly-owned subsidiary in 2019.

☆ Baidu says it can now operate robotaxis in Beijing with no human staff inside
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Chinese tech company Baidu announced Monday it can sell some robotaxi rides without any human staff in the vehicles. BEIJING — Chinese tech company Baidu announced Friday it can now operate robotaxis in a part of the capital city of Beijing with no human staff or driver inside. The government approval initially covers 10 vehicles in the Beijing suburb of Yizhuang, which is home to many corporations such as JD.com. The suburb is the primary site of Baidu's robotaxi public road testing and operation in Beijing city. Public transport users can book heavily subsidized robotaxi rides through the companies' apps.

☆ Baidu's robotaxis don't need any human staff in these parts of China
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-08 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Chinese tech company Baidu announced Monday it can sell some robotaxi rides without any human staff in the vehicles. BEIJING — Chinese tech company Baidu said Monday it has become the first robotaxi operator in China to obtain permits for selling rides with no human driver or staff member inside the vehicles. The local government approvals allow Baidu's Apollo Go robotaxi business to eliminate the cost of human personnel in some instances. But the Chinese capital still requires human staff to sit in the robotaxi with passengers. In the U.S., Alphabet's Waymo and General Motors ' subsidiary Cruise can already run public robotaxis with no human staff in the vehicles.

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