With Gasgoo Daily, we will offer daily important automotive news in China. For those we have reported, the title of the piece will include a hyperlink, which will provide detailed information.
Pony.ai, ATBB team up on Robotaxi service for premium business travel scenarios
Who: Pony.ai (autonomous driving company); ATBB (mobility service provider).
What: The two companies formed a strategic partnership to jointly develop and operate a fully driverless Robotaxi fleet, targeting premium business and aviation-related travel scenarios.
When: Announced on January 28.
Where: Initial deployment in tier-one Chinese cities, with a focus on airports, railway stations, and urban centers.
How:
The fleet is based on Pony.ai's Gen-7 Robotaxi model.
Initial vehicles have obtained multiple regulatory approvals, including permits for Level 4 driverless testing and pilot operations, enabling public ride-hailing services.
Vehicles will be integrated into Pony.ai's proprietary ride-hailing platform and selected third-party platforms.
Roles:
Pony.ai: Provides autonomous driving technology, vehicles, and operational networks, with existing driverless fleets in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.
ATBB: Contributes premium mobility service capabilities through brands such as Xinghui Mobility, with strong presence in business and aviation travel markets.
Why / Strategic Significance:
The partnership expands Robotaxi services into the premium mobility segment, aiming to improve service availability, reduce wait times, and support scenarios such as airport transfers and business travel.
Builds on Pony.ai's prior deployments at major transport hubs, including Beijing Daxing International Airport, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Guangzhou South Railway Station, and Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport.
WeRide launches GENESIS simulation platform to accelerate global autonomous driving development
Who: WeRide (autonomous driving company).
What: Launch of GENESIS, a self-developed, general-purpose autonomous driving simulation platform.
When: Announced on January 28.
Purpose / Why:
To address the limitations of conventional on-road testing in covering diverse regulations, road conditions, climates, and rare or extreme scenarios.
To accelerate large-scale development and commercialization of autonomous driving systems.
How / Core Features:
Combines physical AI and generative AI to bridge real-world physics and virtual simulation.
Uses generative AI to rapidly create realistic urban environments and simulate long-tail cases such as extreme weather, traffic conflicts, and emergencies.
Platform Architecture——Built around a closed-loop system powered by four AI modules:
AI Scenarios: Generates everyday and high-risk driving situations based on billions of kilometers of driving data and over eight years of real-world operations.
AI Agents: Simulates realistic behavior of vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists across routine and high-risk interactions.
AI Metrics: Quantifies performance across safety, regulatory compliance, comfort, and efficiency.
AI Diagnosis: Automates root-cause analysis and generates optimization recommendations.
Scope & Impact:
Supports vehicle platforms from ADAS to Level 4 autonomous driving.
Enables a "one platform, global training" approach, reducing market-specific redevelopment.
Compresses millions of kilometers of physical testing into days of virtual simulation.
Company Context: WeRide operates in more than 40 cities across 11 countries and holds autonomous driving permits in eight markets.
Black Sesame Technologies launches FAD 2.0 open platform
Who: Black Sesame Technologies (AI computing platform developer).
What: Launch of the FAD 2.0 open platform for full-scenario assisted driving.
When: Announced on January 28
Regulatory Background: The platform is built around the Huashan A2000 assisted driving chip, which has received regulatory clearance from the US Department of Commerce and the US Department of Defense; Black Sesame Technologies is currently the only Chinese company to have secured such approval for an assisted driving chip.
Platform Composition; Integrates the A2000 high-performance computing hardware, a comprehensive SDK, AI toolchains, reference models for end-to-end and VLA architectures, and third-party algorithms; Designed as a near-production-ready open platform, with official release scheduled for Q1 2026.
Technical Capabilities: Supports both in-vehicle installation and prototype validation; Scalable core-board architecture reduces integration cost and shortens development cycles; Supports over 24 camera channels and four 10Gb Ethernet links; AI toolchain based on MLIR, enabling optimization of CNN, BEV, end-to-end, and VLA models.
Safety & Compliance: A2000 complies with ISO 26262 ASIL-D functional safety standards; Integrates a hardware security module for automotive-grade safety.
Demonstration & Progress: First model deployment completed in 10 days; At CES 2026, Black Sesame Technologies showcased VLM and point-to-point (P2P) demonstrations based on the FAD 2.0 platform.
Strategic Significance: Positions FAD 2.0 as a full-stack, open hardware–software platform to reduce development complexity and accelerate global deployment of advanced assisted driving systems.
