The two parties aim to build lower-cost L4 autonomous driving solutions based on solid-state LiDARs to help drive mass adoption of the technology.

(Image credit: DeepRoute)

Alibaba-backed Chinese autonomous driving startup DeepRoute announced today that it has entered into a strategic partnership with local LiDAR maker RoboSense.

The two parties will build lower-cost L4 autonomous driving front-mounted solutions based on solid-state LiDARs to help drive mass adoption of the technology, according to a press release.

"We will work in-depth with RoboSense to open up a new landscape of front-mounted mass production for the autonomous driving industry ...... together to drive China's autonomous driving industry to a higher level," DeepRoute CEO Zhou Guang said.

DeepRoute was founded in February 2019 and has already conducted extensive road testing in core urban areas of cities including Shenzhen, Wuhan and Hangzhou.

In April 2021, it became the first company to be able to conduct Robotaxi manned tests in Shenzhen.

On September 14, 2021, DeepRoute announced the closing of a $300 million Series B funding round led by Alibaba, making it the first such company the e-commerce giant has invested in China.

On December 8, DeepRoute announced an extremely low-cost L4 autonomous driving solution that promises to accelerate true autonomous driving into reality.

The solution is called DeepRoute-Driver 2.0, and the company said it can help vehicles drive themselves on complex urban roads with better performance than Tesla's FSD (Full Self-Driving).

Most importantly, it costs less than $10,000, nearly the same price as FSD and the lowest recorded in the industry, DeepRoute said.

DeepRoute-Driver 2.0 uses five solid-state LiDARs and eight cameras for 360° sensing. Its LiDAR suppliers are RoboSense and Zvision.

RoboSense was founded in 2014, has more than 600 LiDAR-related patents as of 2020, and has partnered with NEV companies including BYD and Zeekr.

Chinese self-driving startup DeepRoute unveils L4 self-driving solution that costs less than $10,000