Epidemic concept fermented: Pony.ai and Uisee Technology received huge financing

Text/Baiyang

Today, two domestic autonomous driving technology companies announced good financing news almost simultaneously. UISEE announced that it has received strategic investment from Bosch in Series B, and Pony.ai also announced that it has received US$400 million in financing from Toyota Investment.

In fact, the good news for the autonomous driving industry does not stop there. According to industry insiders, autonomous driving technology companies have recently received intensive financing, and many investment institutions and industry giants are working with Momenta. In the midst of negotiations with several self-driving technology companies, including Automotive, more good news is on the way.

The last time this kind of large-scale capital inflow into the autonomous driving industry occurred was more than a year ago. After checking multiple autonomous driving technology companies on Qichacha, their latest financing is still there. 2018.

Such a grand occasion gives us reason to believe that China’s autonomous driving industry is ushering in spring. What factors prompted the autonomous driving industry to be the first to emerge from this cold winter? We look at two companies that have announced funding to try to find the answer to the question.

The maturity of autonomous driving technology

There may still be a long way to go before the commercialization of fully autonomous driving, and it may even be a dead end. Volvo CEO Samuelsson recently stated that achieving full autonomous driving is a false proposition and Volvo will give up this goal. L5-level autonomous driving is unavailable, but L4-level autonomous driving is blooming everywhere. 2020 may be the year when L4 autonomous driving is commercialized.

Uisee Technology said in an interview with AutoLab that low-speed autonomous driving technology has developed to a critical point where it can be implemented on a large scale. This is also the core reason for this round of autonomous driving financing boom.

According to the plan, after receiving financing, Uisee Technology will explore the application of "truly unmanned" driverless driverless technology in more scenarios outside airports and factories in 2020, such as Unmanned microbuses that solve the last mile of travel, etc.

It is not just Yushi Technology that wants to flex its muscles in the field of scenario-based driverless driving. Technology companies including Baidu Apollo are also gearing up in 2020. In addition, at CES 2020, ZF also demonstrated its L2 and L4 autonomous driving solutions, and is planning to develop a scenario-based driverless bus for a world-renowned commercial vehicle manufacturer that can be commercialized.

The epidemic has accelerated the verification of autonomous driving scenarios

The relatively low labor costs in China are a major obstacle to the promotion of autonomous driving. For example, low-speed logistics distribution, and shuttle buses in fixed routes/closed scenarios that solve the last mile problem.

During the epidemic, products from Uisee Technology, JD Technology, Meituan, Neolithic, Qinglang Technology and other companies all participated in the unmanned delivery service during the epidemic.

The driverless delivery vehicles built by Uisee Technology based on the U-Drive intelligent driving system help the contactless delivery of medical supplies in closed scenes such as hospitals and communities, and help people live in quarantine areas or closed communities. Material distribution and safety inspection work. The introduction of unmanned delivery vehicles on the road during the epidemic is a very good scenario verification, and it also allows more people to realize the value of unmanned delivery.

The same is true for self-driving cars. Affected by the epidemic, public transportation in many places has been suspended, which has caused great troubles to some daily travels. Many people have to travel for the first time. And anxious and troubled.

The most obvious one is Hubei. After the city was closed, travel became a problem for many medical staff, and there were also obstacles in delivering medical services to communities. Countless volunteers risked infection to provide travel for medical staff and the community. Serve.

The epidemic has made people aware of the necessity of RoboTaxi and driverless shuttles. People can’t help but imagine that if autonomous driving technology had matured during this epidemic, the situation might be much better than it is now.

Policy support and surrounding technologies have brought benefits to the development of autonomous driving

On February 24, 11 ministries and commissions including the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the "Smart Vehicle Innovation Development Strategy" (hereinafter referred to as " Strategy") to encourage artificial intelligence technology companies to develop into leaders in autonomous driving system solutions.

Uisee Technology told AutoLab that "The Strategy has a strong guiding significance for the current industrial development. The development signals released by the policy will continue to attract talents, capital, resources and other innovative elements to the industry. , thereby making my country’s smart car industry bigger and stronger.”

In addition, the development of peripheral technologies has also brought benefits to domestic autonomous driving. Regarding 5G and V2X technology, China’s 5G construction speed is at the forefront of the world, and the exploration of V2X in Wuxi, Suzhou, Shanghai, Beijing and other places has allowed Chinese autonomous driving companies to embark on the path of integrating bicycle intelligence and vehicle-road collaboration, accelerating the The development process of autonomous driving in China.

Domestic companies such as Robosense and DJI have made breakthroughs in solid-state lidar, and technology companies such as Horizon and NavInfo have also provided software technical support for China’s autonomous driving, forming an excellent industrial clusters. Policy support has given a boost, and peripheral technologies have also brought development benefits. Autonomous driving technology companies are flying high in the wind.

International giants have a keen sense of smell, but Chinese car companies lack initiative

It is worth mentioning that compared to the financing wave in 2018, the leading investors Bosch and Toyota are both from within the industry , industry giants have seen the fruits that are about to mature on the tree.

In addition to financial support, investment in the industry may also involve collaborative development of technology in the future. Uisee Technology told Autolab, "Bosch divides autonomous driving technology into three major areas: highways, cities, and limited scenarios. Uisee Technology is currently developing limited-scenario autonomous driving, which has a good fit with Bosch. The two parties are currently actively working on By communicating various possibilities, we look forward to creating more sparks with Bosch in the future and truly empowering the industry.”

Bosch and Toyota’s initiative has also sounded a wake-up call for domestic car companies. , should we catch up with this trend and seize the opportunity to land a high-quality autonomous driving technology company? After all, being far-sighted is also a required course for becoming an international car company. If you can't get close to the water, the joke will be big.

This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.