Asia Tech Wire (Oct 22) -- Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi's self-driving unit announced on Tuesday that it has closed a $298 million Series C funding round.

The round was led by Chinese state-owned automaker Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC Group), with participation from Didi.

DiDi Autonomous Driving said it will use the funds to increase its investment in research and development of self-driving technology, and accelerate the mass production of its first self-driving taxi or robotaxi.

Currently, DiDi Autonomous Driving has been operating safely for more than 1,500 consecutive days through order dispatching in demonstration areas in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai.

In April, DiDi Autonomous Driving received a business license for its joint venture with GAC Aion, the electric vehicle subsidiary of GAC Group, Guangzhou Aion-Didi Technology Co. Ltd.

The two companies said they will deeply integrate leading autonomous driving technologies and mature experience in new energy vehicle manufacturing to launch the first mass-produced L4 model in 2025.