SAN FRANCISCO: Chinese startup AutoX, backed by e-commerce giant Alibaba, has applied to test self-driving vehicles without an in-car backup driver in California, the first challenger to Alphabet Inc’s autonomous driving venture Waymo to say it has done so.
AutoX, far smaller than Waymo in scale, is the first of a group of more than 60 companies that have tested with backup drivers in the state to say it is seeking permission for the next level of testing. AutoX, which counts China’s Dongfeng Motor Group along with Alibaba Group Holding Inc among its main investors, was founded in 2016 by former Princeton professor Jianxiong Xiao, a specialist in 3D learning, computer vision and robotics.
Tesla Inc, Lyft Inc and Cruise are among the other players with permission from California’s Department of Motor Vehicles to test self-driving vehicles in the state with backup drivers.