百度Apollo解锁20张北京路测牌照，斩获全国牌照总数超半百 – Gasgoo Auto
What happened: Beijing awarded Baidu’s open-source autonomous driving platform Apollo another 20 licenses for testing self-driving vehicles. Baidu is said to have obtained over 50 licenses in China. Just a day prior, the neighboring Tianjin city issued its first batch of road test licenses and Baidu was among the first to receive one.
Why it’s important: Baidu released Apollo last July and began testing Apollo-running vehicles on road in late 2017. Baidu received a green light from Beijing authorities to test autonomous vehicles on roads this year and has so far obtained 45 licenses from the city’s authorities. Baidu also received licenses to conduct open road tests in Chongqing municipality and Fujian province. Baidu has evolved into a major international player in AI and autonomous driving. It recently became the first Chinese company to join the Partnership on AI (PAI) a US-led consortium on the technology.