By Kate Yuan

(JW Insights) May 30 -- French automotive supplier Valeo and China’s DiDi Autonomous Driving have reached a strategic cooperation and investment agreement on May 29. Valeo intends to invest in DiDi Autonomous Driving and the two partners will develop intelligent safety solutions for L4 robotaxis together, according to Valeo’s announcement.

Geoffrey Bouquot, Valeo Valeo’s executive vice president of strategy and CTO said, “Today, we are proud to sign this agreement to invest in DiDi Autonomous Driving and join our R&D efforts to develop safety solutions. This strategic partnership will contribute to Valeo’s commitment to offer solutions for smart, safe and affordable mobility.“

Valeo and DiDi Autonomous Driving will bring together their expertise to provide passengers with safe, reliable, comfortable and cost-effective autonomous driving services.

In particular, they will set up a joint research and development team to work on safety systems for L4 robotaxis. To offer extra safety to users, Valeo and DiDi Autonomous Driving will complement the main system of L4 standard technology that allows the robotaxi to navigate autonomously and safely, with another set of hardware and software, Valeo said.

Didi founded its autonomous driving business in 2016 and established its first overseas artificial intelligence lab in California in 2017. The Beijing-based firm first launched its manned test service for the public in Shanghai in June 2020. It now has over 200 self-driving vehicles in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other cities.