IP Dispute Prompts Driverless Car Startup’s Move To China

California-based Jingchi Corp., a driverless car startup, has moved its headquarters to the south China city of Guangzhou, apparently as a result of an intellectual property dispute with Baidu Inc. Jingchi was founded by former Baidu Senior Vice President Wang Jin, who claims his company is poised to enter massive market production next year. Baidu has accused Wang of stealing proprietary IP to power the startup. Chinese regulators are relaxing rules that govern the use of self-driving cars. In December 2017, Beijing became the first Chinese city to allow road tests of autonomous vehicles, and a national plan will soon be established. Jingchi will contribute to a $1.5 billion fund along with the Guangzhou city government and two other local companies, dedicated to ramping up developments in the city’s autonomous driving sector.