DeepRoute.ai, a pioneer in developing and deploying end-to-end smart driving technology, announced a partnership with Volcano Engine, a cloud and AI service platform, during this month’s Auto Shanghai event.

The two Chinese companies will collaborate to accelerate the development of AI vehicles by integrating large language models, smart driving systems and cloud computing infrastructure. As part of the partnership, Volcano Engine will provide computing support to DeepRoute.ai, boosting training efficiency for the vision-language-action (VLA) model evolution.

“Computing power, data and algorithms are the three engines behind VLA’s evolution,” said Maxwell Zhou, CEO of DeepRoute.ai. “With enhanced compute from Volcano Engine and our closed-loop data system, we are accelerating iteration. Algorithm innovation remains our core strength.”

Designed for versatility, the DeepRoute.ai VLA model supports both camera-only options and lidar-camera fusion configurations, compatible with various automotive computing platforms. Multiple AI vehicle models integrated with DeepRoute.ai’s VLA model are set to release this year.

Liwei Yang, general manager of Volcano Engine (www.volcengine.com), expressed his confidence in the collaboration and strong anticipation for DeepRoute.ai’s VLA model to enter the market soon.

“This advanced system excels in long-context understanding, analysing driving scenarios over extended time frames of up to dozen seconds,” he said. “It provides step-by-step explanations of its decision-making process, offering insights into its surroundings, predictions and planned actions. By enhancing both performance and transparency, the VLA model fosters greater trust in smart driving technology.”

Zhou added: “To reach full autonomy, AI systems must evolve like human intelligence, from generalists to specialists. VLA is the generalist foundation of smart driving and stands as one of the most promising paths towards fully autonomous driving.”

DeepRoute.ai is an artificial intelligence company dedicated to the research, development and application of smart driving technology. DeepRoute.ai is headquartered in Shenzhen, with offices in Beijing and Fremont, California.