AutoX RoboTaxi

AutoX (founded 2016 by Jianxiong Xiao, 'Professor X', a former Princeton assistant professor; Shenzhen and California; backed by Alibaba and Dongfeng Motor Group) was an early Chinese robotaxi leader and the second company in the world to run a public fully-driverless robotaxi service, in Shenzhen in 2021, holding driverless permits across six cities and opening a San Francisco operations center in 2022. There is no consumer price, and AutoX is discontinued. It is recorded at commercial maturity to reflect that historical peak, with a discontinued lifecycle state: AutoX has wound down its China robotaxi operations entirely (China operations divested, offices closed, the brand discontinued), and the founder pivoted the company into a Silicon Valley personal-robocar startup called Tensor, with no active China presence, so it is not a currently-operating robotaxi service. Several cap-flags: the frequently cited 2021 claim of a fleet of more than a thousand vehicles (the largest in China) is stale and self-reported and does not reflect 2026 reality; the roughly $267 million total-funding figure is an aggregator number, not primary-sourced; the exact wind-down date is unconfirmed (the company went quiet around 2022-2023 and completed the wind-down around 2024-2025); and Tensor's planned second-half-2026 consumer-robocar launch is a forward-looking claim, not a shipped product. It is a Chinese wound-down robotaxi anchor, parallel to Cruise on the US side.

Readiness

AutoX RoboTaxi is discontinued, the 1 capability claim on file is all autonomous with verified, 1 verified deployment is on file, and no incidents are on record.

Availability

discontinued

Discontinued.

see evidence →

Price honesty

no-price

No price points on file for AutoX RoboTaxi.

see evidence →

Capability honesty

autonomous

1 reviewed claim: autonomous, verified.

see evidence →

Real-world use

commercial

Maturity: commercial. 1 verified deployment in the registry.

see evidence →

Safety record

no-incidents

No incidents on record. 1 verified deployment on file.

What it claims to do

• Transports passengersautonomous· verifiedevidence ↗

Price

No reviewed price points on file.

Real-world use

• Shenzhen operated by AutoX2020-12-01

Safety record

No incidents on record. 1 verified deployment on file.

Privacy

Privacy practices disclosed by AutoX for AutoX RoboTaxi, with verification status.

• Cloud uploadverified

  AutoX sends petabytes of sensor data from its fleet every week to its Shanghai data center, where servers run around the clock to process it.

  Source: https://www.autox.ai/blog/20200410.html

• Bystander recordingverified

  AutoX vehicles scan everything around them at all times with cameras, LiDAR, and radar, which means pedestrians, cyclists, and other people nearby are recorded without their consent.

  Source: https://www.autox.ai/blog/20200410.html

• Training data useverified

  AutoX uses real-world driving data from its fleet for simulation and to create more complex test scenarios to improve its autonomous system.

  Source: https://www.autox.ai/blog/20200410.html

• On-device processingverified

  Each AutoX robotaxi has an onboard computer that processes sensor data in real time on the vehicle.

  Source: https://www.autox.ai/blog/20200410.html

Specs

notes

• Verified (historical peak): AutoX (founded 2016; founder Jianxiong Xiao; Alibaba + Dongfeng-backed) was the 2nd company worldwide to run a public fully-driverless robotaxi service (Shenzhen, 2021), with driverless permits across 6 cities and an SF operations center (2022). maturityStage=commercial (historical peak).
• CURRENT STATUS: discontinued (wound down -> Tensor): AutoX has WOUND DOWN its China robotaxi operations entirely: China ops divested, offices closed, the AutoX brand discontinued. The founder pivoted the company into a Silicon Valley personal-robocar startup, Tensor, with no active China presence. It is NOT a currently-operating robotaxi service. lifecycleState=discontinued (active/retired split: maturity reflects the historical commercial peak, lifecycle reflects the wind-down).
• CAP-FLAG (stale numbers): The 2021 '~1,000+ vehicle fleet / largest in China' claim is STALE (self-reported, ~2021) and does NOT reflect 2026 reality - do not carry forward as current. ~$267M total funding is a Tracxn aggregator figure (not primary). Exact wind-down date is unconfirmed (profile went quiet ~2022-2023; completed ~2024-2025). Tensor's H2-2026 consumer-robocar launch is a forward-looking claim, not a shipped product.

specs

AutoX RoboTaxi: L4 autonomous robotaxi operated in Shenzhen (and permitted in Beijing/Shanghai/Guangzhou/Hangzhou + CA Silicon Valley testing). Founded Aug 2016 (founder Jianxiong Xiao, 'Professor X'; ex-Princeton); Shenzhen + California; backed by Alibaba + Dongfeng Motor Group.

drive_mode

remotely-supervised

formFactor

av (autonomous robotaxi; remotely-supervised L4; DISCONTINUED China operations)

autonomy_level

L4 autonomous

What's under the hood

No brain on file for AutoX RoboTaxi.

Frequently asked questions

Is the AutoX RoboTaxi actually available for purchase?

Discontinued. No longer available for purchase.Source: AutoX opens public fully-driverless RoboTaxi in Shenzhen (2021; 2nd globally)

What does the AutoX RoboTaxi cost?

Not announced.

Does the AutoX RoboTaxi really transports passengers?

Yes, verified. AutoX RoboTaxi performs this autonomously.Sources: AutoX -- official site; AutoX operates fully driverless robotaxi service in Guangzhou, China; launched driverless rides with no safety driver in January 2021; holds government-issued fully driverless road-test license from Guangzhou municipal authority, China's AutoX opens the largest robotaxi fleet without safety drivers -- TechCrunch, January 2021; documents AutoX's 1,000-vehicle driverless fleet deployment in Guangzhou/Shenzhen with no safety driver in the front seat

Where is the AutoX RoboTaxi being used?

AutoX RoboTaxi is in use at: Shenzhen operated by AutoX (2020-12-01).Source: AutoX: fully driverless robotaxi launch in Shenzhen

Is the AutoX RoboTaxi safe?

No incidents on record across 1 verified deployment.

How does the AutoX RoboTaxi handle privacy?

AutoX has disclosed 4 privacy practices for AutoX RoboTaxi: cloud upload (AutoX sends petabytes of sensor data from its fleet every week to its Shanghai data center, where servers run around the clock to process..), bystander recording (AutoX vehicles scan everything around them at all times with cameras, LiDAR, and radar, which means pedestrians, cyclists, and other peop..), training data use (AutoX uses real-world driving data from its fleet for simulation and to create more complex test scenarios to improve its autonomous system), and on-device processing (Each AutoX robotaxi has an onboard computer that processes sensor data in real time on the vehicle).Source: https://www.autox.ai/blog/20200410.html

Who makes the AutoX RoboTaxi?

AutoX RoboTaxi is made by AutoX, based in Shenzhen, China.Source: AutoX opens public fully-driverless RoboTaxi in Shenzhen (2021; 2nd globally)

Compare side by side

• AutoX RoboTaxi vs Didi Robotaxiby Didi Autonomous Driving · av
• AutoX RoboTaxi vs Waymo Driver (6th gen)by Waymo · av
• AutoX RoboTaxi vs Robotaxi GXRby WeRide · av

Sources

1. AutoX opens public fully-driverless RoboTaxi in Shenzhen (2021; 2nd globally) · https://www.therobotreport.com/autox-shenzhen-robotaxi-service-opens-to-public/ ↗
2. AutoX wound down China ops; founder rebranded the company as Tensor (US) · https://www.techbuzz.ai/articles/tensor-claims-first-consumer-robocar-launch-but-it-s-really-autox ↗
3. Tensor (ex-AutoX) selling a privately-owned L4 robocar; US/Europe/UAE H2 2026 · https://carbuzz.com/chinese-level-4-robotaxi-startup-tensor-autox/ ↗
4. AutoX 2021 peak: driverless permits in 6 cities; SF operations center · https://www.therobotreport.com/rbr50-company-2021/autox/ ↗
5. AutoX technology (fully-driverless system; Shenzhen RoboTaxi) - official · https://home.autox.ai/en/technology.html ↗
6. AutoX -- official site; AutoX operates fully driverless robotaxi service in Guangzhou, China; launched driverless rides with no safety driver in January 2021; holds government-issued fully driverless road-test license from Guangzhou municipal authority · https://autox.ai/ ↗ · 2021-01-26
7. China's AutoX opens the largest robotaxi fleet without safety drivers -- TechCrunch, January 2021; documents AutoX's 1,000-vehicle driverless fleet deployment in Guangzhou/Shenzhen with no safety driver in the front seat · https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/26/chinas-autox-opens-the-largest-robotaxi-fleet-without-safety-drivers/ ↗ · 2021-01-26
8. AutoX: fully driverless robotaxi launch in Shenzhen · https://www.autox.ai/en/index.html ↗
9. Wired: AutoX launches fully driverless robotaxi in Shenzhen, Dec 2020 · https://www.wired.com/story/autox-china-fully-driverless-robotaxi-shenzhen/ ↗
10. https://www.autox.ai/blog/20200410.html ↗