The era of AI is also the era of automotive robots.
Text/Shanshan Xu
On January 26, 2022, Baidu's smart car brand Jidu announced that it has completed nearly $400 million in Series A financing, which was jointly increased by Baidu and strategic partner Geely.
This is the 331st day of Jidu's establishment, just a few months after Robin Li announced that the first automotive robot will be released in 2022 and delivered in mass production in 2023.
Define the highest level of intelligence in China
Auto robot is Baidu's judgment of the future development trend of automobiles. According to previous news, this intelligent robot that will be unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show will have L4 level automatic driving capabilities, running through the three major product concepts of "free movement", "natural communication" and "self-growth".
At present, jidu's self-developed electronic and electrical architecture JET1.0, SOA software platform, automatic driving system, core computing power platform, and related sensors are further iterating towards the mass production state. In addition, the interior and exterior trim of Jidu's first automotive robot mass production vehicle, as well as the design of all parts, have gradually entered the stage of mass production mold development.
After the completion of this financing, Jidu will continue to accelerate the process of research and development and mass production. Xia Yiping, CEO of Jidu, said in a letter to all employees, "In the future, Jidu will increase the introduction, training and development of cutting-edge talents in high-level autonomous driving, smart cockpit, intelligent manufacturing and other related fields; accelerate the construction of the system for the development and operation of users in the intelligent car market."
At the same time, Jidu will continue to focus on product polishing and development, to ensure that in 2023 on time to deliver a user with the best user experience, both quality and cost advantages, and define the highest level of intelligent automotive robots in China. Xia Yiping said in the letter.
According to the data, Xia Yiping served as the head of the intelligent vehicle connection business department of Fiat Chrysler (FCA) Asia Pacific, founded Mobike in 2015, and officially became the CEO of Jidu in 2021.
Delivery of the first intelligent robot on time in 2023
In January 2021, the Jidu brand was established, the CEO candidate was officially announced in February, and more than $300 million of seed financing was completed in March, and the second financing was completed in less than a year. Recently, Jidu officially released the brand logo "Pixel-J", and the release of new cars is close at hand.
Jidu was co-founded by Baidu and Geely, the former being the largest shareholder with a 55% stake. This is Baidu's first attempt to announce the construction of a car, and it is also the first offensive against the smart electric vehicle market. In response to this round of financing, Baidu did not disclose whether it was to increase the capital according to the proportion of existing equity.
Screenshot from Qichacha
It is worth noting that compared with the relaxed car construction plan, the journey of the concentration can be described as "compact".
On day 128, the design of the first automotive robot was finalized
The first wind tunnel experimental test of the full-size sludge model was completed on day 182
On day 207, the simulation prototype car was integrated with the SIMUCar (Software Integration Mule Car) software pioneered by Jidu, and the in-depth development of the intelligent cockpit for intelligent driving was started
On the 305th day, the high-speed, urban dual-domain intelligent driving function was successfully integrated through SIMACar
On day 324, some product design styles for the Jidu Automotive Robot Concept Car were released
Jidu's first car robot is less than 100 days away from the real launch, and what is more curious than the intelligent configuration is what kind of bloody rain and wind will be blown on the intelligent electric vehicle track.