Alibaba to merge autonomous driving unit with China’s Zelos in $2 billion Robovan push
News, 30 January 2026
Alibaba is stepping up its bet on autonomous logistics by merging its self‑driving vehicle arm with Chinese startup Zelos Technology to create a new autonomous delivery powerhouse valued at roughly $2 billion. Under the plan, Alibaba’s logistics arm Cainiao will fold its autonomous‑driving unit into Zelos, forming a combined entity expected to operate under a working banner like Cainiao Robovan and manage a fleet of more than 20,000 autonomous delivery vehicles.
Instead of continuing costly in‑house development, Alibaba is choosing to invest in strategic integration by acquiring a stake in Zelos and aligning its logistics strengths with Zelos’s expertise in autonomous robotics. Zelos, founded in 2021, specializes in Level‑4 autonomous delivery solutions used by postal services, e‑commerce and express logistics providers. The merged business will leverage both companies’ technologies and networks to scale autonomous delivery — a sector seen as a key battleground in China’s rapidly evolving logistics landscape.
A senior Cainiao executive is expected to join Zelos’s board to ensure seamless collaboration and operational alignment as the combined unit expands. The deal reflects Alibaba’s broader strategic shift toward partnerships that can accelerate commercial deployment of robotics and automation while sharing risk and capital investment. With China’s booming e‑commerce demand and rising labor costs squeezing last‑mile margins, autonomous delivery solutions like robovans could offer significant cost efficiencies and faster fulfillment.
Although formal regulatory approvals are still expected and neither company has officially confirmed the deal yet, this move could reshape how Alibaba, one of the world’s largest e‑commerce platforms, tackles logistics and automation bringing driverless delivery closer to mainstream reality.
Compiled using AI
