An incubator under JD Finance has backed a Hangzhou-based bike and self-driving car start-up Notebike to jointly develop an autonomous vehicle specifically designed for goods delivery.
Chinese e-commerce giant JD Inc. is moving toward fully automatic warehouse operations, and is exploring product deliveries using drones and self-driving vehicles.
A venture capital unit under JD Finance, JD's financial services unit, has previously backed Chinese drone maker Onagofly.
Notebike and JD did not disclose financial details of the investment, which is the company's series A funding round.
The two parties plan to join forces to produce a delivery driverless car by combining JD's artificial intelligence and big data capabilities with Notebike's hardware, design and manufacturing expertise.
Founded in 2014, Notebike initially produced balanceable dual-wheel scooters and foldable electric bikes.
Earlier this year, it released a low-speed self-driving vehicle Egg Car, designed to be used in industrial parks or on simple road conditions.