Baidu has received permission from the state's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to start a trial for its self-driving cars in California.

California is considered as a crucial testing ground for autonomous vehicles because of the technological innovations in Silicon Valley.

The DMV’s testing permit would let Baidu USA to test its self-driving technologies in the Golden State. Baidu said that the testing would commence soon, but there is no specific date yet, CNBC reported. The Beijing-based tech firm has announced the creation of an American autonomous driving team, which will be part of Baidu Autonomous Driving Unit that operates in Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. 

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“Baidu has already built a strong team in Silicon Valley to develop autonomous driving technologies, and being able to do road tests will greatly accelerate our progress,” said Jing Wang, the senior vice president of Baidu and general manager of Baidu's Autonomous Driving Unit.

The Chinese Internet giant became the 15th company to receive permission from California’s DMV to carry out tests for self-driving technology, China Daily reported. Other companies that received approval include well-known car makers like Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Ford Motor, as well as internet giant Google and Chinese electric vehicle start-up Faraday Future. 

In April, Baidu opened an office in Silicon Valley, and the company plans to hire more than 100 researchers and engineers to work there by the end of 2016.

Last month, Baidu joined Ford in investing $150 million in laser-based sensor maker Velodyne.

TagsBaidu, Self-driving cars, autonomous vehicles, autonomous technologies, department of motor vehicles, DMV, Silicon Valley, Ford, Google, mercedes benz