Ant Group-backed Hello unveils robotaxi to challenge Baidu in China

Hello, a Chinese bike-sharing and ride-hailing firm backed by fintech giant Ant Group, unveiled its first driverless taxi on Thursday, intensifying competition with local rivals Baidu, WeRide and Pony.ai. The vehicle, Hello Robot1, is based on the Venucia VX6 SUV produced by a joint venture between China’s Dongfeng Motor and Japan’s Nissan, according to Yu Qiankun, co-founder of Hello’s self-driving unit, who presented the car at an event in Shanghai. Equipped with 14 high-resolution cameras,...