Chinese autonomous driving start-up, Deeproute.ai, has recently garnered $100 million in funding from an anonymous automaker. This latest development has been difficult to achieve, particularly as the funding didn’t come from government sources, shared Deeproute.ai’s CEO, Maxwell Zhou. Interestingly, the major player in the investment round was Great Wall Motor, a well-known Chinese company.

Deeproute.ai has been working closely with chip manufacturing giant Nvidia. The collaboration is so deep that it involves in-depth discussions with Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang. Zhou presented his thoughts on “Commercializing mass-produced autonomous driving solutions” at Nvidia’s GTC AI conference earlier this year, a significant event in the industry.

The Shenzhen-based company relies on Nvidia’s Orin chip for its current driver-assist system. The company revealed that it will be one of the first to use Nvidia’s new Thor chip in China. This new system, to be released next year, will be capable of handling more complex driving situations using more visual prompts.

Zhou stated that the competition in China’s autonomous driving industry is essentially a race in AI technology. Deeproute.ai has its own AI computing capacity and can also leverage Alibaba’s resources if required. Alibaba had led a $300 million investment round in Deeproute.ai in 2021, which valued the company at over $1 billion, just two years after its inception.

Deeproute.ai is already working with Chinese automakers for vehicles sold within China. It anticipates that at least three car models equipped with its driver-assist system will be launched this year. The company’s systems are already operational in more than 20,000 cars, and Zhou expects this number to increase exponentially next year.

With an office in California, Deeproute.ai is exploring collaborations with overseas automakers and plans to showcase its capabilities at Japan’s auto show next year. The company is poised to compete with Tesla and other companies like Xpeng and Huawei in the autonomous driving space, without the need for high-definition maps.

As restrictions on China’s access to advanced semiconductors from American companies like Nvidia tighten, Deeproute.ai’s developments could have significant implications in the industry. However, automotive chips are currently not categorized under these restrictions.

Deeproute.ai’s CEO expressed eagerness for Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” product to enter China, as it would boost consumer interest in driver-assist features and enhance Deeproute.ai’s standing in the sector. While the startup doesn’t have immediate plans for an IPO, it is closely observing the public offerings of other industry players.

China’s auto industry is increasingly focusing on driver-assist technology to remain competitive in the market. Companies like Pony.ai are collaborating with state-owned enterprises for developing fully autonomous robotaxis, while Tencent has extended its strategic cooperation with German auto supplier Bosch for autonomous driving.

In the rapidly evolving world of autonomous driving, Deeproute.ai’s recent funding and its collaboration with Nvidia could potentially be a game-changer.