A fleet of vehicles equipped with Baidu’s autonomous driving technologies conduct road testing in Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province, China. Courtesy of Baidu/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO SALES, NO ARCHIVES.
Chen Dan had doubts about betting millions of dollars to make high definition maps of Chinese roads. That was until she took charge of the business at NavInfo Co and saw how they are essential to self-driving cars, with demand that could reach into the billions.
Armed with one of just 14 mapping licenses in China, a permit system restricted to locals that locks out foreign rivals, Chen has built a team that will chart every traffic lane and on-ramp for 150,000 kilometres of highways by the middle of next year. With the support of Tencent Holdings Ltd, NavInfo is preparing to battle it out with ventures backed by local web giants Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Baidu Inc.
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