We are thrilled to announce that DiDi Autonomous Driving has successfully raised an impressive $298 million in its latest funding round, marking a significant milestone in our journey to revolutionize the transportation landscape. Established in 2016 as part of DiDi's overarching mission to enhance mobility, our autonomous driving unit transitioned into an independent entity in August 2019, devoted to pioneering Level 4 autonomous driving technologies. Our commitment to making transportation safer and more efficient has led us to acquire public road testing licenses in several major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, and California, alongside one of the first Intelligent Connected Vehicle Demonstration Application Licenses in China.
The funds raised will be instrumental in advancing our research and development efforts, accelerating the rollout of our autonomous driving solutions, and expanding our product applications. We firmly believe that incorporating advanced autonomous driving technology into shared-mobility fleets holds the potential to create profound social value, as well as environmental benefits. With a wealth of valuable data and an extensive operational ecosystem, DiDi Autonomous Driving is uniquely positioned to engineer and deploy the world's leading autonomous vehicle fleets. We are excited about the road ahead and look forward to leveraging this new capital to bring transformative innovations to the mobility sector, ensuring safer, smarter, and more convenient transportation options for all.
