DeepRoute.ai, a Shenzhen-based artificial intelligence (AI) company specializing in smart driving solutions, has raised US$100 million through a Series C1 funding round.
The investment, from a prestigious Chinese automotive OEM (original equipment manufacturer), will be used to enhance research and development on its end-to-end model DeepRoute IO, expand collaboration with global automakers, pursue its robotaxi business, and support the recruitment of more AI-native talents.
Since August, about 20,000 vehicles integrated with DeepRoute IO have been delivered to customers. The company says it plans to release more than 10 additional series models in collaboration with selective OEM clients next year and develop the next-generation DeepRoute IO, utilizing visual-language-action model, for launch next year.
“The strategic investment from the automaker is a significant recognition for our technology maturity and mass production capabilities. We are eager to leverage this momentum to expand our reach in global markets," says DeepRoute.ai chief executive officer Maxwell Zhou.
"I firmly believe autonomous driving is the most promising pathway to achieving physical AI and we will be a major player in the next AI era. We look forward to cooperating with more partners on this journey."
As current human-supervised smart driving cars continue to gather data, the company aims for DeepRoute IO to achieve full autonomy capability without human oversight. This will enable the company to explore unsupervised robotaxi business through partnerships with mobility platforms.
Unlike traditional robotaxis, which rely on pre-mapped data and restricted to specific areas, DeepRoute.ai says its robotaxis will be more scalable and cost-effective thanks to its end-to-end technology.
Founded in 2019, DeepRoute.ai initiated R&D on map-free technology in 2020, which debuted in 2023 as the first of its kind in China, enabling vehicles to navigate from address to address without high-definition maps. The company began road testing its end-to-end model last August and officially deployed it in mass-produced cars this year.
