Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing’s autonomous driving subsidiary has raised more than $500 million in its first funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Didi said Friday.

The external investment is the largest ever for China’s autonomous driving sector, Didi added in its statement on the matter.

Beijing-based Didi began testing self-driving cars in 2016 before spinning off its autonomous driving division into an independent company in 2019.

Last month, Didi rolled out a development plan, with self-driving vehicles as one of its main focuses over the next three years. The company said that it had obtained licenses to test self-driving cars in the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Suzhou as well as California.

The investment comes as China moves to increase investment in infrastructure that supports technology and science based work.

Contact reporter Ding Yi (yiding@caixin.com)

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