(Yicai Global) Aug 5 -- Didi Chuxing, China's largest car-hailing platform, has hived off its autonomous driving division into a separate company run by Chief Technology Officer Zhang Bo, mirroring a similar move by Uber Technologies in April.

The new company will focus on developing self-driving technologies, product applications and corresponding services, Beijing-based Didi said in a statement today. Zhang will serve concurrently as its chief executive.

Didi's latest firm "looks forward to further strategic collaborations with automakers and industry partners to promote the application of self-driving technologies in people's everyday lives," Zhang said in the statement.

Didi set up a driverless technology research team in 2016 to work on high-definition mapping, perception, behavioral prediction, a cloud-based control platform and Internet of Vehicles, cooperative vehicle infrastructure systems, and information security, among other areas. The team conducts research and runs tests in several places in China and the US with a staff of over 200.

The new firm will bring together the resources and technological advantages of Didi's platform and continue to increase investment in core technological research and development and deepen cooperation with all parts of the industry chain.

Uber's autonomous driving unit, Advanced Technologies Group, received USD1 billion in funds from Softbank Vision Fund, Toyota Motor, Denso and other investors, Uber said on April 18 when it was poised to list.

Editor: Ben Armour