Chinese tech company Baidu announced Monday that it could sell some robotaxi rides without human personnel within the vehicles.
Baidu
BEIJING – Chinese technology company Baidu announced on Friday that it might now operate robotaxis in an element of the Beijing capital that has no staff or driver.
The move eliminates the labor costs related to operating self-driving taxis – as much as the variety of cars allowed.
The government approval initially includes 10 vehicles within the Beijing suburb of Yizhuang, home to many corporations similar to JD.com.
The suburb is the predominant testing and operation site for Baidu’s public roads in Beijing. In November 2021, local authorities allowed Baidu and rival robotaxi operator Pony.ai to charge for rides.
Public transport users can book heavily subsidized robotaxi rides through the corporate’s app.
Baidu provides a 12-month yield.
Baidu shares briefly rose greater than 15% during trading in Hong Kong on Friday.
Shares closed at eight-week lows on Thursday after the corporate revealed its AI-powered bot Ernie, a Chinese-language rival to ChatGPT. CEO Robin Li said Ernie’s bot isn’t perfect and stressed the necessity to improve the product.
