DeepRoute.ai closes $300M Series B funding round

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DeepRoute.ai closed a Series B funding round with the investment totaling to more than $300 million. The international self-driving technology company is focused on advancing urban logistics and popularizing robotaxis.

With this investment, DeepRoute plans to further research and development, scale automaker collaboration and fleet operation, and support the expansion of the team. DeepRoute’s long-term strategy includes developing medium duty trucks for urban logistics, improving transit for shipments and freight delivery.

The total amount raised to date by the company is $400 million. It has been almost two years since the company raised its first $50M pre-seed round.

On July 16, 2021, DeepRoute publicly launched its robotaxi service in Shenzhen. It claims to be the first robotaxi service to do so in Shenzhen. Up to that point DeepRoute piloted vehicles had driven 1 million miles safely in four different cities around the world.

“Our investment in DeepRoute.ai reflects our confidence in the company’s technology and the management team,” said Jason Tan, Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Jeneration Capital. “The self-driving technology market is highly competitive and features many exciting innovations. We believe DeepRoute.ai’s engineering team and proven record of success to date will enable it to continue to be a leading innovator, empowering more businesses and services in a variety of industries.”

“DeepRoute.ai is the first autonomous driving company we have invested in. Since Pre-A funding, they have surpassed our expectations in both technology innovation and business cooperation. We look forward to DeepRoute.ai excelling as an industry leader and providing benefits to people’s daily lives worldwide.” said Grace Liu, Fosun Global Partner and Co-President of Fosun RZ Capital also added.

In addition to expanding the types of vehicles deployed, DeepRoute aims to grow its robotaxi fleet to more than 150 by the end of 2021, with its owned vehicles making up approximately 100 of the total, as interest in autonomous transportation and demand for affordable ride-hailing services increases.

Currently operating in Wuhan and Shenzhen with over 1.2 million miles driven safely on public roads, DeepRoute also received a Passenger Carry Permit from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) this June. Cruise and Waymo have also received Passenger Carry Permits in California, so the competition is heating up there.

DeepRoute has autonomous driving solutions for both medium duty trucks and robotaxis. The DeepRoute-LINK and DeepRoute-INJOY solutions, respectively, will provide sustainable and profitable revenue streams for the future of the company. In the meantime, DeepRoute will continue to establish and maintain partnerships with major automakers to offer safe and new riding experiences for the public.

“We appreciate our forward-looking investors for their support. Our DeepRoute.ai team is excited to bring more robotaxis to the streets and expand to urban logistics,” said Maxwell Zhou, CEO of DeepRoute.ai. “We are excited for the future of autonomous vehicles and the positive societal impact we will have.”

The oversubscribed round was led by Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA), and other venture capital companies including Jeneration Capital. Previous investors Fosun RZ Capital, Yunqi Partners, and Glory Ventures also participated in the round.