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The
latest financing boosted SAIC Mobility Robotaxi’s value to more
than $1 billion, the statement said.
Momenta did not disclose the size of its investment in SAIC
Mobility Robotaxi, which tapped Momenta last year to jointly
develop autonomous technology.
The two companies last year began offering robotaxi test rides
to the public in a Shanghai district and then in Suzhou.
Momenta's investment in SAIC's autonomous unit comes as startups
have been pouring billions of dollars into autonomous
technology, aiming to take an early lead in commercializing
autonomous driving.
Earlier this month, China search engine giant Baidu Inc said it
obtained permits to operate fully driverless robotaxi services
on open roads in two Chinese cities -- the southwestern
municipality of Chongqing and the central city of Wuhan.
The permits allowed commercial robotaxis to offer rides to the
public without human safety drivers in the car.
In April, Baidu and Toyota Motor Corp-backed Pony.ai said that
they received permits in Beijing to deploy robotaxis without
safety drivers in the driver's seat on open roads within a 60 sq
km area. The Beijing permits still require them to have a safety
driver in the passenger seat, however.
($1 = 6.7858 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting By Norihiko Shirouzu in Beijing; Editing by
Bernadette Baum)
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