Connect with us

Published

on

In this article

A Deeproute.ai robotaxi on display.
Deeproute.ai

GUANGZHOU, China — Alibaba has led investments worth more than $300 million into Chinese autonomous driving start-up DeepRoute.ai.

The Shenzhen-based start-up makes the self-driving systems for vehicles that involve hardware and software. DeepRoute.ai runs a fleet of autonomous taxis with some operated by its partners including ride-hailing firm CaoCao and automaker Dongfeng Motors. But the company is also developing technology for logistics.

Alibaba’s involvement in the funding round underscores the ambitions of China’s technology giants to get a foothold in the area of driverless cars. Alibaba is already an investor in another Chinese autonomous driving car start-up called AutoX and is backing electric vehicle maker Xpeng.

Alibaba also has its own logistics arm called Cainiao which plans to develop self-driving trucks.

Maxwell Zhou, CEO of DeepRoute.ai, told CNBC that “most of the money is being spent to develop the technology and the rest is scale up the fleet size” of its robotaxis. Money will also go toward hiring more talent, Zhou added.

The CEO said the company currently operates around 70 robotaxis and wants to expand its fleet to between 150 to 160. Half of the robotaxis will be operated by DeepRoute.ai, while the other half will be run by its partners, Zhou said.

In a press release, the company said its long-term strategy includes developing medium-duty trucks for urban logistics, improving transit for shipments as well as freight delivery.

Zhou declined to comment on any specific projects with Alibaba, but said “every opportunity is possible.”

There are a few sources of revenue for DeepRoute.ai. It can charge passengers for its robotaxi service or revenue share with a ride-hailing firm. Or it can also sell its autonomous driving system to automakers in return for a one-time fee as well as an annual service fee.

In the logistics space, DeepRoute.ai could run an autonomous driving fleet for a company or again, sell its driverless technology.

China’s autonomous driving industry is getting very competitive.

Chinese internet giant Baidu and ride-hailing app Didi are investing in autonomous driving. A slew of other start-ups in China including Pony.ai and WeRide are also putting money into that space. Last week, WeRide launched a new product called Robovan designed for urban logistics, an area that Deeproute.ai is also exploring.

Continue Reading

Technology

Nvidia sending 18,000 of its top AI chips to Saudi Arabia

Published

on

By

Nvidia sending 18,000 of its top AI chips to Saudi Arabia

Tareq Amin, CEO of Humain, and Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, attend the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 13, 2025.

Hamad I Mohammed | Reuters

Nvidia will sell over 18,000 of its latest artificial intelligence chips to Saudi Arabian company Humain, CEO Jensen Huang announced on Tuesday.

The announcement was made as part of a White House-led trip to the region that includes President Donald Trump and other top CEOs.

The cutting-edge Blackwell chips will be used in a 500 megawatt data center in Saudi Arabia, according to remarks at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum in Riyadh on Tuesday. Nvidia said its first deployment will use its GB300 Blackwell chips, which are among Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips at the moment, and which were only officially announced earlier this year.

Tuesday’s announcement underscores the importance of Nvidia’s chips as a bargaining tool for the Trump administration as countries around the world clamor for the devices, which are used to train and deploy advanced AI software such as ChatGPT.

Read more CNBC tech news

“I am so delighted to be here to help celebrate the grand opening, the beginning of Humain,” Huang said. “It is an incredible vision, indeed, that Saudi Arabia should build the AI infrastructure of your nation so that you could participate and help shape the future of this incredibly transformative technology.”

Nvidia shares rose 4% in trading on Tuesday.

Last week, the Department of Commerce said that it was going to scrap what it called President Joe Biden’s rule, and implement a “much simpler rule.” Nvidia has also been required to seek an export license for its AI chips since 2023 because of national security concerns. 

Humain will be owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and will work on developing AI models as well as building data center infrastructure, according to a press release. Humain’s plans eventually include deploying “several hundred thousand” Nvidia GPUs. 

“Saudi Arabia is rich with energy, transforming the energy through this giant versions of these Nvidia AI supercomputers, which are essentially AI factories,” Huang said.

Continue Reading

Technology

Microsoft is cutting 3% of its workforce

Published

on

By

Microsoft is cutting 3% of its workforce

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella leaves after attending a meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, on April 30, 2024.

Willy Kurniawan | Reuters

Microsoft on Tuesday said that it’s laying off 3% of employees across all levels, teams and geographies.

“We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC.

The company reported better-than-expected results, with $25.8 billion in quarterly net income, and an upbeat forecast in late April.

Microsoft had 228,000 employees worldwide at the end of June, meaning that the move will affect thousands of employees.

It’s likely Microsoft’s largest round of layoffs since the elimination of 10,000 roles in 2023. In January the company announced a small round of layoffs that were performance-based. These new job cuts are not related to performance, the spokesperson said.

Read more CNBC tech news

One objective is to reduce layers of management, the spokesperson said.

Last week cybersecurity software provider CrowdStrike announced it would lay off 5% of its workforce.

In January, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told analysts that the company would make sales execution changes that led to lower growth than expected in Azure cloud revenue that wasn’t tied to artificial intelligence. Performance in AI cloud growth outdid internal projections.

“How do you really tweak the incentives, go-to-market?” Nadella said. “At a time of platform shifts, you kind of want to make sure you lean into even the new design wins, and you just don’t keep doing the stuff that you did in the previous generation.”

On Monday, Microsoft shares stopped trading at $449.26, the highest price so far this year. They closed at a record $467.56 last July.

WATCH: Microsoft will continue as the best performing mega-cap stock in 2025: D.A. Davidson’s Gil Luria

Microsoft will continue as the best performing mega-cap stock in 2025: D.A. Davidson's Gil Luria

Continue Reading

Technology

Hinge Health aims to raise up to $437 million in IPO, pricing at $28 to $32 per share

Published

on

By

Hinge Health aims to raise up to 7 million in IPO, pricing at  to  per share

Hinge Health co-founders Gabriel Mecklenburg (left) and Daniel Perez (right).

Courtesy of Hinge Health

Hinge Health said in a filing on Tuesday that it plans to raise up to $437 million in its upcoming initial public offering.

The digital physical therapy startup filed its initial prospectus in March, and it updated the document with an expected pricing range for its Class A common stock of $28 to $32 per share. Hinge said it plans to sell about 13.7 million shares in the offering.

Based on the number of Class A and Class B shares outstanding after the offering, the deal would value the company at $2.42 billion in the middle of the range, though that number could be higher on a fully diluted basis.

Hinge, founded in 2014, uses software to help patients treat acute musculoskeletal injuries, chronic pain and carry out post-surgery rehabilitation remotely. The company was co-founded by CEO Daniel Perez and Executive Chairman Gabriel Mecklenburg, who have both experienced personal struggles with physical rehabilitation.

More CNBC health coverage

Three weeks after Hinge filed its initial prospectus, President Donald Trump announced a sweeping tariff policy that plunged U.S. markets into turmoil. That volatility has caused several companies, including online lender Klarna and ticket marketplace StubHub, to delay their long-awaited IPOs.

Hinge is forging ahead anyway, and a second digital health startup, virtual chronic care company Omada Health, filed to go public on Friday. Both IPOs will be closely watched by the digital health sector, which has been mostly devoid of public offerings since 2021.

During its first quarter, Hinge said that revenue climbed 50% to $123.8 million, up from $82.7 million during the same period last year. Hinge reported $117.3 million in revenue during its fourth quarter, up 44% from the same period in 2023. 

The company plans to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “HNGE.”

Hinge has raised more than $1 billion from investors including Tiger Global Management and Coatue Management, and it boasted a $6.2 billion valuation as of October 2021, the last time the company raised outside funding. The biggest institutional shareholders are venture firms Insight Partners and Atomico, which own 19% and 15% of the stock, respectively, according to its prospectus.

WATCH: IPO window likely to open in first half of 2026: PitchBook

IPO window likely to open in first half of 2026: PitchBook

Continue Reading

Trending