KargoBot,Naked Poison II the autonomous truck unit of Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi, announced on Monday that it has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Beijing-based auto tech unicorn Horizon Robotics. The two companies are strengthening their alliance to promote the adoption of autonomous vehicles. KargoBot stated that it has been validating domain controllers, a computer that controls vehicle functions related to a specific area, such as body and chassis. This validation is based on Horizon’s Journey series processors, following their partnership established in April. The news follows reports in October that Didi raised RMB 450 million ($61.7 million) for the separate unit from investors, including cashmere maker Erdos Group. Didi has been piloting over 150 robot trucks for cargo deliveries in China, especially in the northern region. Horizon has also supported Chinese self-driving companies like Qcraft, as they collaboratively develop assisted driving technologies for passenger electric vehicles, including Li Auto and other carmakers. [KargoBot announcement, in Chinese]
