We at EqualOcean tracked the major funding rounds or industry events that took place in China’s automotive market in June 2022. And the following is a list of deals that we have selected for you, based on a number of criteria, including the funding amount, the financial backers, and the segments in which the companies operate.
KBVIP
KBVIP (Chinese: 快卜新能源), based in Shanghai and established in 2020, is a joint venture of BACN (Chinese: 百城新能源) and CATL (Chinese: 宁德时代), a director in the field of integrated battery systems. The company did not disclose the amount of the funds raised from strategic investment on June 1. The company received the funds from Xiaomi’s subsidiary and Hanxing Venture Capital (Chinese: 瀚星创业投资), which is the third-largest shareholder of KBVIP.
WM Motor
WM Motor (Chinese: 威马汽车), a Chinese EV maker backed by Baidu, completed a pre-initial public offering (IPO) about 4 billion CNY (USD 600 million) on June 1. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Shanghai, the company mainly focuses on designing, manufacturing, and developing battery-operated EV products and providing travel solutions. WM Motor primarily focuses on the mainstream market, self-owned manufacturing facilities, and intense research and development (R&D) capabilities.
MINIEYE
MINIEYE (Chinese:佑驾创新), based in Shenzhen, is an intelligent and autonomous vehicle developer providing visual sensing solutions. On June 6, 2022, MINIEYE announced the completion of its Series D funding round with a total of CNY 840M (USD 120M) led by Cathy Capital (Chinese: 凯辉基金), with the participation of NIO Capital (Chinese: 蔚来资本) and Shenzhen Hongyuan ( Chinese: 申万宏源证券). Completing the Series D funding round will consolidate the company’s leading role in the large-scale mass production of intelligent driving in China. It will also accelerate the development of the core technology stack and the research and development (R&D) process of high-level autonomous driving solutions.
Raythink
The company was founded in 2019 and headquartered in Shenzhen, Raythink (Chinese:锐思华创) is a world-leading solution provider for integrating intelligent transportation, assisted driving, and AR display. On June 7, Raythink closed a CNY 100M Series A+ funding round led by Chengwei Capital (Chinese: 成为资本), with China’s Unicom’s subsidiary, Unicom Innovation Venture Capital (Chinese: 联通创投). In addition, Raythink has successfully launched AR HUD products with automotive-grade mass production capacity. The raised funding of this financing round will continuously support its AR HUD system to enhance smart mobility, facilitate 5G technology, and advance interactive technology.
Autra.tech
The company was founded in 2021 and headquartered in Beijing, self-driving truck maker Autra Technology (in Chinese: 千挂科技) announced that it had collected CNY 200 million in a Series Pre-A financing round from Cathy Capital Private Equity (Chinese: 凯辉基金), Xianghe Capital (Chinese:襄禾资本), and Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI) Capital (Chinese:贝塔斯曼亚洲投资基金) on June 8. In October and December 2021, Autra Technology finalized two Angel rounds invested by IDG Capital (Chinese: IDG资本) and SF Express (Chinese:顺丰控股), respectively, with a total value of CNY 195 million. Autra Technology. Autra Technology is managed by the founding team who previously worked in Baidu, Pony ai, and IDG capital. It is committed to researching and developing Level 4 driverless truck technology and solutions.
PATEO CONNECT+ Technology
PATEO CONNECT+ Technology (Chinese: 博泰悦臻) closed its strategic financing round worth nearly CNY 700 million on June 27. The participants of this round of funding include vehicle-to-everything (V2X) (Chinese:车联网), Internet of Things Applications (Chinese: 物联网应用), Internet of Things (Chinese: 物联网) etc. Launched in 2009, PATEO CONNECT+ Technology is a Shanghai-based leading provider of comprehensive telematics products and services, ranging from active safety systems to automotive electronics, software, and operating systems.
Love Car Master
Love Car Master (Chinese:爱车掌门) finished its Series A funding round on June 10, collecting nearly CNY 10 million funds from Zhongshan Financial Services (Chinese: 中南金服). Found in 2021 and based in Hangzhou, Love Car Master, also known as Xiaoju Digital Technology (Chinese:小桔数字科技), is a service provider and a digital technology company focusing on automotive aftermarket services. It is an Online-Merge-Offline (OMO) platform providing comprehensive auto services, including waterless car washing, auto beauty, insurance, and maintenance.
Motovis
Motovis (Chinese:魔视智能), a Shanghai-based intelligent self-driving technology firm, completed its Series C round strategic investment and received hundreds of millions of CNY from Continental AG (Chinese: 大陆集团) and other investors on June 13. The company was founded in early 2015, Motovis is a self-driving technology firm that provides front-loading mass production products with the main focus on product research and development (R&D) and business expansion in two core markets, passenger cars, and commercial vehicles. In this financing round, Motovis and Continental AG Group will jointly promote intelligent, multi-functional, and cost-optimized travel solutions in the Chinese market.
Goosun
Goosun (Chinese:硅山技术), secured tens of millions of CNY in its Series A+ funding round on June 14, collecting tens of millions of CNY. the investment was led by Trinity Innovation Investment Management (Chinese:三一创投). Incorporated in Shenzhen in 2015, Goosun is a developer of core electronic control components and power systems for New Energy Vehicles (NEVs). Goosun mainly focuses on research and development (R&D) of automotive power conversion and motor control modules. It also develops power train control solutions for logistics and other special vehicles, enabling clients to enhance productivity and reduce costs.
Enokhang
Enokhang (Chinese: 以诺行) has completed tens of millions of CNY in a Series A funding round from Chengwei Ventures on June 21 and became the exclusive investment of capital. The company was established in 1996, it is a technology-based enterprise integrating automotive research and development (R&D), sales, and services. Enokhang has built an intelligent color matching platform and provided digital automobile spraying solutions to over 300 large repair shops across the domestic market. It is committed to digitally empowering and transforming the traditional automotive aftermarket. In the future, Enokhang will build a talent system driven by Augmented / Virtual Reality (AR/VR) technology to improve the standardized and replicable network service capabilities.
Onemile
Onemile (Chinese: 一英里) was founded in 2005, which is a short-distance travel enterprise that provides sustainable transportation solutions. The company primarily focuses on research and development (R&D) of lightweight and portable new energy transportation tools. On June 24, Onemile finalized a pre-B round of financing of tens of millions of CNY, led by TusStar Ventures (Chinese: 启迪之星), followed by Anjian Lishang Shuangchuang (Chinese: 安吉两山私募). It includes two production types: smart folding electric bicycles and folding scooters. The Onemile products can be subdivided into six models, Halo City, Halo S8, M40, P40, and Nomad, with the cruising range from 30km to about 200km.
Polestar
Shares of Polestar (Chinese: 极星汽车) started to list on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker “PSNY” on June 24. It is the latest electric maker to go public after successfully merging with a special-purpose acquisition company, SPAC. Launched in 2017, Polestar is a joint venture between Sweden’s Volvo Cars (Chinese: 沃尔沃) and Chinese auto giant maker Geely. The initial public offering (IPO) raises nearly CNY 5.3 billion (USD 800 million) in cash, together with approximately CNY 1.7 billion (USD 250 million) in private investment in public equity (PIPE). The company will use CNY 5.3 billion raised from this deal as the fresh capital to finance its three-year plan to build profit-driven new vehicles.
Industrial Next
Industrial Next (Chinese: 英达视), a developer of smart and adaptable manufacturing technologies, has raised nearly CNY 800 million (USD 12 million) in a Series Pre-A round of financing led by Chinese personal computer maker Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group (LCIG) (Chinese: 联想创投) on June 28. Xiaomi Ventures (Chinese: 小米战投), the investment arm of Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, and Internet tech-focused venture capital (VC) company Alphax Partners (Chinese: 沸点资本) also participated in the deal. Industrial Next is a multinational technology company jointly incubated and invested by MiraclePlus (formerly YC China) (Chinese:奇绩创坛) and Y Combinator. The proceeds aim to develop and promote intelligent and autonomous technology, staff building, and market expansion.
Immotor
Immotor technology (Chinese:易马达e换电), was established in 2015 and headquartered in Shenzhen, is an innovative power battery exchange company, closed its Series C1 funding round, raising a total of nearly 30 million USD led by Southern Power Grid Capital (Chinese: 南方电网资本). The transaction also included participation from SMBC Venture Capital (Chinese:三井住友银行), Qulian Technology (Chinese: 趣链科技), Qingdao Yongwan Capital Asset Management (Chinese:青岛拥湾资产)， Petronas Chemicals Group etc. Immotor plays a leading role in electric vehicles' intelligent green energy network. Immotor will use this funding to develop new power battery products and accelerate the expansion plans of deploying power exchange stations in major cities in China.
Enpower Greentech
Enpower Greentech (Chinese: 恩力动力) completed its Series A round of funding which worth CNY 20 million on June 30, led by Sequoia Capital China (Chinese:红杉中国) and Dayone Capital (Chinese:日初资本), with the follow-on investments of GAC Capital (Chinese: 纽励资本); Shanghai Broad Resources Investment Management (Chinese: 博润资本), Tianqi Capital (Chinese: 天启资本), and Niuli Capital (Chinese:纽励资本). Enpower Greentech Inc is a Shanghai-based high-tech company with leading automotive research and manufacturing. It pioneers next-generation all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs), a safe and long-ranging alternative to the lithium-ion battery (LIB). Enpower is committed to leveraging advanced technology, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Drone markets, preparing for entering the EV market.