[240730] #Xpeng #Hesai #Waabi

1. Valeo & Seeing Machines Announce Collaboration to Offer Advanced Driver & Occupant Monitoring

• Valeo and Seeing Machines announce a strategic collaboration to strengthen their position in the driver and occupant monitoring systems (OMS) market.
• Valeo transfers its driver monitoring perception software activity to Seeing Machines.
• Seeing Machines acquires Valeo-owned German startup Asaphus, enhancing its team with Asaphus’ unique IP, data, and AI capabilities.
• Collaboration allows Valeo to integrate Seeing Machines’ interior monitoring software into its OMS hardware and software architecture.
• New regulations are making driver and occupant monitoring systems mandatory, boosting market demand.
• Having a Berlin-based team enables Seeing Machines to better address the European market.
• The collaboration aims to provide innovative, integrated interior sensing solutions to enhance vehicle safety and occupant comfort in the automotive industry.

2. Former Tesla engineer shares thoughts on end-to-end autonomous driving at WAIC 2024

• Gu Junli, former Tesla engineer and head of autonomous driving at Chery, shared insights on China’s progress in autonomous driving at the WAIC.
• Chinese automakers are 1.5 to 2 years behind Tesla in developing “end-to-end neural network” technology.
• Tesla’s FSD software v12 is a significant advancement, with users traveling 1.2 billion miles and the latest version achieving 372 miles between critical disengagements.
• Gu expects Chinese companies to integrate data-driven neural networks in ADAS by 2025, with full implementation in production cars by 2026-2027.
• Li Auto and other Chinese companies are working on partially end-to-end systems for advanced driving features.
• Xpeng Motors and Huawei are also pursuing end-to-end approaches but face challenges in urban scenarios.
• Chery plans to launch advanced city NOA functions next year and integrate Level 2 ADAS in 500,000 new cars in 2024.
• Despite Tesla’s lead, Chinese companies aim to offer personalized self-driving technology globally, with Chery and Xpeng expanding their ADAS capabilities to overseas markets.

3. In It for the Long Haul: Waabi Pioneers Generative AI to Unleash Fully Driverless Autonomous Trucking

• AI is transforming the transportation industry, particularly in autonomous vehicle (AV) technology.
• Toronto-based startup Waabi is using generative AI to scale self-driving vehicles, starting with long-haul trucking.
• Waabi announced at GTC it will use NVIDIA DRIVE Thor to bring its AI-powered autonomous trucking solution, Waabi Driver, to market.
• Waabi plans to launch fully driverless operations next year, offering a cost-efficient and scalable self-driving solution.
• Waabi is developing on NVIDIA DRIVE OS, the company’s operating system for safe, AI-defined autonomous vehicles.
• This AI approach reduces extensive on-road testing and enhances safety and efficiency.
• Waabi’s collaboration with NVIDIA includes a $200 million Series B round, work with Uber Freight, and opening a trucking terminal near Dallas.
• Waabi aims for faster, safer, and more scalable deployment of autonomous vehicle technology globally.

4. Hesai Tops the Global Automotive Lidar Ranking for the Third Consecutive Year

• Hesai Technology has been named the top automotive lidar company by market share for the third consecutive year by Yole Group.
• Yole Group’s “Lidar for Automotive 2024” report highlights Hesai’s continued leadership and rapid industry expansion.
• Hesai holds 37% of the global automotive lidar market and 26% of the passenger car market.
• The company shipped over 300,000 units of ADAS lidar and secured design wins with 18 OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers across approximately 70 vehicle models by Q1 2024.
• Hesai dominates the robotaxi lidar market with a 74% share of the $124M market.
• The company reported the highest revenue and is the only one to achieve positive cash flow in 2023.
• Hesai’s R&D and production capabilities enable mass production of high-quality lidar, advancing road safety.
• The company’s market leadership is expected to grow with new design wins and OEM partnerships in 2024.

5. Exclusive: Xpeng’s new model due in Q4 to ditch LiDAR and move to Tesla-like pure vision solution

• Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) plans to launch a new model, codenamed F57, in Q4 2024, which will abandon the use of LiDAR in favor of a vision-based smart driving system similar to Tesla’s.
• This marks a significant shift for Xpeng, previously the first to install LiDAR in production vehicles, as it aims to align its technology with Tesla’s end-to-end large modeling approach used in FSD V12.
• The change is also driven by cost reduction goals, with the F57 model part of Xpeng’s strategy to achieve a 25% cost reduction in technology.
• Xpeng’s XNGP (navigation guided pilot) feature, which already covers nearly all Chinese cities, has been using LiDAR minimally, primarily for static target detection.
• By 2025, Xpeng aims to enhance its urban smart driving system to match the current highest level of highway driving experience, allowing for extensive autonomous city driving.