China’s Tencent Holdings and Guangzhou Automobile Group Company Ltd have announced that they will be teaming up in the fast-changing technological world of self-driving cars.
The two companies will be looking to develop internet-connected cars, artificial intellingence-aided driving, and explore the investment areas of auto-related e-commerce, purported new energy cars and auto insurance, Guanzhou said in a statement on Monday.
According to Guangzhou’s statement, the car manufacturer is keen to tap into Tencent’s expertise in mobile payments, social networking, big data and artificial intelligence. Cloud services and other technical support will also be provided by the Tech company.
The news was well-received on the stock market, with Guangzhou’s shares on the Hong Kong list trading five per cent higher, with Tencent’s shares gaining one per cent, to trade at a record high.
Tencent bought a five per cent share in United States electric car maker Tesla Inc earlier this year for $1.78 billion.