Alibaba’s Damo Academy, founded in 2017 as a research-focused program, has announced a significant change in its autonomous driving lab. The lab, which conducts cutting-edge research on autonomous vehicles, will now merge into Cainiao, Alibaba’s global logistics network, and will no longer operate under the basic research institute.
The news was initially reported by the China Securities Journal, a state-affiliated publication. A spokesperson from Alibaba has confirmed the reshuffle, indicating a shift in focus and a greater urgency for the company to monetize its investment in autonomous driving, which requires substantial capital.
Logistics is seen as a logical starting point for Alibaba’s autonomous driving endeavors because self-driving delivery vans primarily transport goods rather than people, and the routes tend to be simpler, such as last-mile environments, compared to busy downtown roads.
Damo Academy has been supporting Cainiao’s last-mile delivery operations for the past six years with its flagship robovan called Little Donkey. The self-driving van has already completed over 10 million deliveries as of June 2022, covering various e-commerce, restaurant, and grocery orders.
Alibaba had projected that the fleet of Little Donkeys would be delivering one million parcels per day within three years. If the team is on track with this forecast, the vans could be handling a significant portion of Cainiao’s packages by now. During China’s annual shopping extravaganza, Double 11, in 2022, Cainiao recorded peak daily deliveries exceeding 18 million.
With Cainiao’s expanding presence in multiple countries as part of Alibaba’s export e-commerce business, it wouldn’t be surprising to witness Little Donkeys navigating the sidewalks of Latin American cities in the future. The logistics giant has been establishing localized logistics centers in countries like Brazil, Mexico, and Chile to strengthen its international operations.
