China smart location service startup Wayz.ai raises $80 million in Series A round

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Wayz.ai, a Chinese smart location and mapping service startup announced that it has raised nearly $80 million in the Series A funding round, which was invested by BlueRun Ventures, Lightspeed China Partners, as well as the startup's founder Vincent Tao, etc.

Wayz.ai was founded in 2017 by Vincent Tao, former CEO of the Chinese online TV provider PPTV. It is committed to providing complete location intelligence service solutions with the location-based service as a gateway, combining AI technologies with precision positioning, high-definition map (HD map), safety testing as well as location cloud platforms.

Reportedly, the mass-produced maps developed by the startup are mainly applied in L2 or L3 autonomous vehicles. In addition, Wayz.ai offers high-definition map systems for complex urban traffic scenarios, which are available for L2, L3 and L4 autonomous vehicles. Limited by technical difficulties and high cost, only a small number of map providers in China are developing L4 HD map.

The company has R&D teams in Shanghai, Seattle and Silicon Valley. Most talents had employment history in Microsoft, Google, Uber, Baidu, Qualcomm. According to the company's website, its overseas teams focus on sensors, HD map and chip technology, while its Chinese group specializes in AI and cloud platform development.