DeepRoute.ai: programs, progress and news

Analyst view

Deployed 200,000 vehicles by end 2025; went from zero in early 2024 to 40% market share in China.
Series C1 of $100M from Great Wall Motor (Nov 2024) funds VLA model development and global partnerships.
IO 2.0 (Aug 2025) runs 40B-parameter VLA model without maps; NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor compute platform.

As reported

Foundation Model

40-billion-parameter model that reasons from cameras to decide steering, acceleration and braking step-by-step.

Map-Free

DeepRoute pioneered map-free driving in China (2023); relies on real-time perception rather than pre-loaded maps.

Hardware Integration

DeepRoute IO 2.0 runs on NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor with Blackwell GPUs for real-time perception and control.

Business Model

Licenses DeepRoute IO to Chinese automakers: Great Wall Motor, Geely, Smart. Operating RoadAGI for delivery and logistics.

Programs

DeepRoute.ai, one program

Updated 1 Mar 2026

Research · Proto · Pilot · Deploy · Scaling

3 items

Mar 2026
demoDeepRoute at GTC 2026: unified VLA cuts training cycles 5 days → 12 hours (opens prnewswire.com)DeepRoute IO
Unified model (driver/analyst/critic) automates fleet learning; targets one million vehicles by end 2026.
Aug 2025
demoDeepRoute IO 2.0 announced; 40B VLA model in production vehicles (opens prnewswire.com)DeepRoute IO
First mass-production VLA model in consumer vehicles; no HD maps required.
Sep 2023
demoDeepRoute IO launches with map-free autonomous driving (opens automotiveworld.com)DeepRoute IO
First deployment of map-free navigation in China; validated real-world viability of perception-only architecture at scale.

Open · Active · Partial

Global generalization of language modelsActive research
Models trained on Chinese roads and Mandarin; international expansion needs retraining on new rules and languages.
Robustness in edge casesActive research
VLA models fail on rare events (night jaywalking, debris); large datasets help but validation remains hard.
Regulatory approval outside ChinaOpen
Western safety standards differ from China's; ODD certification and liability rules still stabilizing.

Self-driving software · 5

1 round · as reported

Date	Round	Amount	Post-money	Lead
5 Nov 2024	Series C1	$100M	—	Great Wall Motor

1 investor · 3 partners

Investor
Great Wall Motor (opens therobotreport.com)
Led Series C1 funding of $100 million; primary strategic partner for vehicle integration.
Partner
Geely (opens techcrunch.com)
Integrating DeepRoute IO on vehicle platforms; delivering to Chinese mass market.
Partner
Smart (opens techcrunch.com)
Deploying DeepRoute IO on compact and mid-size models; 15 total vehicle models supported.
Partner
NVIDIA (opens autonews.gasgoo.com)
DeepRoute IO 2.0 runs on NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor with Blackwell GPUs.

Key people