China’s self-driving truck leaders say AI breakthroughs won’t accelerate rollout — here’s why
With 5 billion kilometers in collected driving data, AI can extrapolate that into 50 billion km of experience in a world model — which is then sufficient to allow a heavy-duty truck to drive completely on its own, Ma said. He expects the trucks can then start operating without any humans inside in certain parts of the country. Achieving that goal in about two years is already quite fast, he said, noting that in order for driverless trucks to become a widespread reality, they will need partnerships with manufacturers and regulatory approval — in addition to the tech. Autonomous vehicles rely heavily on data about driving on roads. Just like robotaxi companies, self-driving truck operators run manned tests in order to gather training data safely. Inceptio has by far recorded the most commercial autonomous truck miles in the industry, exceeding U.S. rivals, according to ARK Invests Big Ideas 2026 report in January. At the time, the company had driven 250 million miles — exponentially more than fellow Chinese autonomous driving company , which held second place at 4.2 million miles. U.S.-based rivals Aurora, Kodiak and Gatik rounded out the top five, with a combined 8.9 million miles, according to the report. Inceptio‘s Ma said in