Bliq.ai has won approval to run driverless cars in Finland, its second EU market after Estonia. First stop is a Helsinki winter.
Europe has another driverless car heading for its roads. Finland has cleared Bliq.ai to operate its Bliq Driverless vehicles on public roads, effective immediately. It is the second EU country to approve the startup, after Estonia in May.
The rollout starts in Helsinki, with a safety driver onboard for now. Testing begins shortly and will run through the Nordic winter. That is the point. Bliq wants to prove its system in one of Europe’s harshest driving environments.
“This approval brings us closer to making driverless mobility part of everyday life across Europe,” said Julian Glaab, Bliq’s chief executive and co-founder. The Helsinki launch will be led by Erik Safonov, who already runs the company’s operations across the Baltics.
Not another robotaxi #
Bliq is taking a different route to most self-driving firms. It does not build its own cars. Instead, it fits existing software-defined vehicles with a sensor and compute kit, turning them into driverless ones.
The current system pairs AI-based Level 2 driving with remote human supervision. A person can step in from afar if something goes wrong. That mix lets Bliq deploy quickly while keeping a safety net.
The pitch is that autonomy should not be locked inside robotaxi fleets. Bliq wants the technology in the cars people and businesses already drive. In Estonia, where it won fully driverless approval in May, it says it runs the largest driverless fleet in Europe, about a dozen vehicles.
Europe inches forward #
The continent has been slow but steady on autonomy. Belgium ran Europe’s first Level 4 highway test. Baidu’s Apollo Go won Level 4 approval in Switzerland. Verne launched a Pony.ai robotaxi service in Zagreb.
The technology has stalled before, and tighter EU vehicle rules keep raising the bar. But the approvals are stacking up. Bliq’s next target is Germany, where it started out.
For now, the milestone is modest and careful. A safety driver still sits behind the wheel in Helsinki. But Finland gives Bliq a cold, hard test, and another EU flag on the map.
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