China aims to implement artificial intelligence technology in at least half of all its new cars by 2020 and cover 90 percent of its big cities and highways with a wireless network that can support smart vehicles, its top state planner said on Friday. These goals are part of a draft for a national smart car strategy that the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) wants to seek public feedback for, it said in a statement. China is aiming to become a world leader in artificial intelligence by 2025, with an aim to grow its core AI industries to over 150 billion yuan ($22.15 billion) by 2020. Smart cars are a key part of the project. The NDRC said it wanted to build a national team with officials from the State Council to guide smart car innovation and planned to encourage the launch of preferential policies for related businesses which could include tax cuts.

Indian ride-hailing firm Ola said it has tied up with Microsoft to build a connected-car platform and will use the U.S tech giant's Azure cloud-computing service to power its in-car entertainment offering. Microsoft is separately also in talks over a potential investment in Ola, a source told Reuters, declining to be named as the discussions are private. The new connected-vehicle platform, for cars that have internet access, will have features to aid navigation and to flag when vehicle maintenance is required, Ola said in a statement on Tuesday. "Both companies will collaborate to take this platform to car manufacturers globally to integrate with vehicle systems," Ola said, making the announcement during a visit to India by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Ola, which has been locked in a fierce battle with rival Uber for a bigger piece of India's $12 billion taxi market, has said it would invest in artificial intelligence and machine-learning capabilities, which include technologies like its in-car entertainment platform called Play that allows riders to choose music and stream videos.