Former Xpeng Autonomous Driving Chief Joins Nvidia

Wu Xinhou, the former Vice President of autonomous driving at the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Xpeng, has joined the U.S.-based artificial intelligence giant Nvidia.

Although Wu did not specify his role at Nvidia, Chinese media outlet Jiemian News reported that he would assume the position of Head of Automotive Products. No source for this information was provided.

Wu did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for further details, and Nvidia also did not respond to their request for comment.

Wu, who resigned from Xpeng this month, made the announcement of his move to Nvidia on his Weibo account. He shared a photo of himself alongside Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang, and Xpeng's Chairman, He Xiaopeng.

During his tenure at Xpeng, Wu had overseen autonomous driving development efforts since 2018, leading a team of over 1,000 engineers in China and the United States.

Chinese automakers, including Xpeng, have been significant purchasers of Nvidia's chips to equip their vehicles with intelligent systems. Nvidia recently exceeded expectations with its quarterly revenue forecast and noted a surge in demand from China.

Xpeng, ranked among China's top 20 best-selling EV manufacturers, has been enhancing its advanced driver assistance software and aims to offer all its functions to drivers across China by 2024, in a bid to outpace its U.S. competitor, Tesla.

Earlier this month, Xpeng's Chairman, He, revealed Wu's departure from the company in a social media post and expressed anticipation for deeper cooperation with Wu, particularly in chip-related areas.