Editing by Kate Yuan

There are at least four Chinese startups developing autonomous trucks and among them, the Beijing-based Trunk Tech (主线科技) raised Series B funding in mid-February, the company said.

Source: official website of Trunk Tech

Other self-driving truck companies include TuSimple, Inceptio and Fabu, said a Technode report.

Beijing-based Trunk Tech was founded in 2017 in Beijing with founding members of graduates of Tsinghua University. With Zhang Tianlei being its CEO, it is China's first AI company to develop L4 self-driving trucks, targeting logistics hub and trunk lines, according to its website. Its latest round funding of an undisclosed amount was led by state-owned automaker BAIC. Its earlier investors include private equity firm Pre-IPO Capital and Zhengzhou municipal investment fund, and EV maker Nio, according to Trunk Tech.

The company is considered one of the most promising startups in China’s self-driving car sector with backing from a list of prominent investors including NIO Capital, GLP, Bosch and iFlytek.

Trunk Tech said it has delivered more than 100 driverless trucks to clients including China National Offshore Oil Corporation in trial projects at domestic ports in Tianjin and Ningbo. It is operating a testing fleet made of dozens of autonomous trucks, which haul cargo for partners such as JD Logistics, Deppon Logistics, and Alibaba-backed STO Express, with its fleet having now driven 1.5 million kilometers (932,057 miles), Technode reported.