(Yicai Global) Jan. 28 -- Didi Autonomous Driving has raised USD300 million in its second round of external funding since the unmanned vehicle firm became a standalone subsidiary from Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing in August 2019, a company insider told Yicai Global today.

The lead investor was Beijing-based IDG Capital, the insider said. Other participants were Australia’s CPE Capital, the US’ Paulson Investment, the Russia-China Investment Fund, Hong Kong’s Guotai Junan International and CCB International Holdings.

The funds will be used to expand the deployment of autonomous driving projects into more cities and to explore the application of self-driving technology in scenarios other than mobility.

In May last year the company received USD500 million from Japan’s SoftBank Vision Fund and other investors.

Didi Autonomous has permits to test self-driving vehicles in Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou and also California in the US. It conducted 404 kilometers of autonomous vehicle tests in Shanghai last November, bringing its total to 530 km.

Didi Autonomous Driving needs “at least 10 years” of investment to last the long and arduous journey until the industry becomes mature in terms of technology, commercialization and regulations, Didi founder and chief executive Cheng Wei said.

Didi Autonomous Driving could be the breakthrough that Didi Chuxing needs before it goes public, said Fang Xingdong, founder of ChinaLabs. Different from small mobility platforms that only need to focus on hiking market share, Didi Chuxing must rely on a strategic change other than a new business line, such as freight, to support its core competitiveness given its massive assets, he added.

Editor: Kim Taylor