Amap Opens Qianyu Platform for No-Code Location AI Agents

HANGZHOU, China: Amap Platform, the unit of Chinese mapping company Amap that sells location-based solutions, has launched Qianyu, a "spatial intelligence" open platform that lets developers and businesses deploy AI agents built on its mapping data using natural-language prompts and no code, according to a Sept. 24 release distributed by PR Newswire.

The company announced Qianyu at the 2026 Apsara Conference in Hangzhou, Alibaba Cloud's annual technology event. Amap is owned by Alibaba Group. At the same conference, Alibaba's chip unit unveiled its Zhenwu V900 processor, part of a run of Chinese AI chip launches ahead of the Trump-Xi summit.

Maps as Machine-Readable Data

Large language models are good at answering questions about the digital world, Amap argues, but many business tasks depend on the physical one: choosing store locations, routing fleets or keeping riders safe. Those jobs require an understanding of places, road networks, buildings and how a city changes over time.

Qianyu is organized around what Amap calls a "Point-Line-Plane-Dynamic" framework. It combines points of interest, roads, buildings, regions and time-series data into a system that software can read. As of August 2026, the platform held more than 80 million points of interest, over 5 million kilometers of roads and 7,500 square kilometers of 3D models, with addresses, travel times, building outlines and area heatmaps added.

From Days of Analysis to an Agent Workflow

A user gives the agent an instruction in plain language. The agent then sets the geographic area and time frame, gathers information, checks it against multiple sources and returns recommendations that can be traced back to the data.

Amap says tasks such as store site selection, neighborhood analysis and demand heatmaps usually take days. Qianyu packages them into workflows an agent can run, which the company says substantially improves efficiency for business users. It did not publish benchmarks or pricing.

Cui Yong, general manager of Amap Platform, said the company has turned spatial intelligence into ready-to-use agents so AI can "understand space and perceive changes" and support real-world business decisions.

Scooters, Smart Glasses and Watches

Amap is also taking car-navigation features to two-wheelers. Lane-level guidance and traffic-light countdowns now extend to scooters and motorcycles. Its "Eagle Eye Guardian" system warns riders of hazards beyond their line of sight, including rear-end collisions, dooring and lane-cutting. The system runs on Android, Linux, OpenHarmony and RTOS, and Amap is deepening work with Niu Technologies and Ninebot.

In wearables, Amap is working with Xiaomi and Qwen Glasses. Users can search for nearby places by voice and get turn-by-turn directions through smart glasses, or hail a ride from a smartwatch with one voice command. Smart glasses are drawing attention in the U.S. too, where Meta is preparing a camera-free version of its glasses.

World Map Targets Overseas Clients

Outside China, Amap is selling its capabilities through its World Map service. The company says World Map now includes more than 300 million continuously updated points of interest and over 900 million address records, with support for Chinese, English and local languages. It supports driving, cycling, walking and motorcycle navigation for logistics platforms, delivery services, local services and online travel companies.

Amap plans to bring features already tested in China to international markets, including junction views, lane-level guidance, voice prompts and turn-by-turn directions. Businesses can build them directly into their apps and operating systems.

The release named no overseas customers. The test for Qianyu and World Map outside China will be whether logistics and delivery companies adopt them. Amap has not said how many of World Map's 300 million points of interest are outside China.