In the realm of autonomous transportation, Chinese tech giant Baidu is poised to take its robotaxi unit, Apollo Go, to the global stage. According to insiders, the company is in advanced talks with multiple partners to expand its operations beyond China’s borders in the near future. While details on timing and target regions remain scarce, this move signals a significant milestone in the development of self-driving taxis.
Baidu is no stranger to the robotaxi scene, having operated a large fleet of autonomous vehicles in China. In recent years, regulators in cities like Beijing and Wuhan have given the green light for companies to commercially operate self-driving taxis, paving the way for widespread adoption.
The news comes as Tesla prepares to unveil its highly anticipated robotaxi event, which is expected to shake up the industry. Meanwhile, WeRide, another Chinese robotaxi developer, has announced a partnership with Uber to integrate its vehicles onto the ride-hailing platform in Abu Dhabi later this year.
In China, robotaxi rides operated by Baidu and other companies are often heavily subsidized to encourage usage. While not all vehicles are fully autonomous, with some requiring human staff on board, the demand for autonomous transportation is growing rapidly. As of late July, Apollo Go had clocked over 7 million robotaxi rides, a testament to the technology’s potential.
In a separate development, Baidu announced a shake-up in its executive ranks, with Rong Luo stepping down as CFO to oversee the company’s mobile ecosystem unit. Junjie He, former head of the mobile unit, will take on the role of interim CFO as part of a “management rotation” aimed at driving growth and innovation within the company.
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