Didi Autonomous Driving, the self-driving unit of Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing, has raised 2 billion yuan (US$281 million) to accelerate AI research and the deployment of Level-4 autonomous driving technology.

The Series D funding round included investments from Zhongguancun Science City Technology Growth Fund, Beijing Information Industry Development Investment Fund, Beijing Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund, Guangzhou Automobile Group, and participation from Didi Chuxing itself, the company announced on October 11.

“L4 autonomous driving will be one of the most transformative technologies over the coming decade of the AI era, with the potential to greatly improve transport safety, efficiency, and overall user experience,” said Zhang Bo, Didi co-founder and CEO of Didi Autonomous.