Didi Chuxing Looks to Silicon Valley for Talent to Build Self-Driving Car
Didi Chuxing, China’s Uber-like ride-hailing powerhouse, is stepping up its game by entering the autonomous vehicle market. CEO Cheng Wei revealed in an interview with Bloomberg that the company is actively seeking data scientists with experience in self-driving technology from Silicon Valley to help with the project. Furthermore, Didi has engaged in discussions with Gansha Wu, founder of Beijing-based driverless startup UiSee Technology.
This move by Didi is not entirely surprising, given its parallel trajectory with former rival Uber. Earlier this year, the two companies reached an agreement that essentially saw Uber withdraw its pursuit of the Chinese market, ceding its operations to Didi in exchange for a 17.7 percent ownership stake in the Chinese company and a one-time cash injection of $1 billion.
While Cheng expressed admiration for Uber’s approach to the Chinese market, the agreement effectively grants Didi a dominant position in the growing Chinese market. The pursuit of self-driving technology could potentially bring Didi back into direct competition with Uber, as both companies are likely to eventually aim for global networks of autonomous vehicles. However, for now, the focus is on individual development of the technology.
Didi’s foray into autonomous vehicles will undoubtedly impact the limited talent pool of autonomous driving specialists. It will be interesting to observe how both Didi and Uber approach development of the technology and the impact on the talent market.
