We at EqualOcean tracked the major funding rounds or industry events that took place in China’s automotive market in August 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.
BeBest-Shanghai
BeBest-Shanghai (Chinese: 比博斯特), an intelligent chassis solution provider, completed nearly CNY 100 million (USD 14.6 million) Pre-A and Plus round of financing on August 25. This round is led by Sequoia China Seed Fund, followed by Shanghai Highlight Capital and Atom Smart Transportation Industry Fund. Founded in May 2021, the firm received an angel round of investment worth tens of millions of yuan from Atom Ventures and Atom Intelligent Transportation Industry Fund at the beginning of its establishment.
Greater Bay Technology
Greater Bay Technology (Chinese: 巨湾技研), hereinafter referred to as “GBT”, completed nearly CNY 1 billion in its Series A round of financing. The company was founded in September 2020, GBT focuses on the research and development of XFC (eXtreme Fast Charging) technology and the establishment of an ‘XFC supercharging ecology’.
Geneoge
Geneoge (Chinese: 集成能源), a one-stop DTC service platform for new energy vehicles (NEVs), has recently completed a new round of financing led by Junshan Private Equity Fund and followed by its long-time shareholder Fengrui Capital, shortly after a round of financing three months ago. The company is dedicated to building a one-stop NEV infrastructure and service ecology in lower-tier cities, providing a range of services from NEV retailing to after-sales and energy replenishment.
NISAR Tech
NISAR Tech (Chinese: 幔核科技), an intelligent driving platform-based tool and software provider, closed its angel rounds financing for tens of millions of CNY, which was exclusively invested by Chengwei Capital (Chinese: 成为资本). The company was founded in Germany, NISAR Tech is an international innovative company focusing on the development of intelligent driving integration platforms.
Changsha Xingshen Intelligent Technology
Changsha Xingshen Intelligent Technology (hereinafter referred to as GoFurther.AI) (Chinese: 行深智能) closed an A+ round of financing which was co-led by Xing Xiang Capital (Chinese: 兴湘资本) and Ruizhu Capital (Chinese:睿住资本), and followed by Sanyi Venture Capital(Chinese: 三一创投), Hunan Caixin Capital(Chinese:湖南财信) and Jiayuan Capital (Chinese:嘉远资本). Founded in 2017, GoFurther.AI is a provider of self-driving solutions and intelligent logistics products, covering automated driving vehicles, robots and intelligent driving kits.
Avatr Technology
Avatr Technology (Chinese: 阿维塔科技), the auto start-up backed by Changan Automotive, completed its series A round of financing led by the National Green Development Fund (NGDF) on August 2. This round of financing was participated by China Merchants Jintai Capital Management (Chinese: 招商金台), SDIC JULI Investment Management (Chinese: 国投聚力) and INNO-Chip (Chinese: 韦豪创芯), Citic New Future Investment (Chinese: 中信新未来). The company has recently signed a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement with Huawei to develop high-end intelligent electric vehicle products.
Suzhou Yuntu Semiconductor
Suzhou Yuntu Semiconductor (Chinese: 苏州云途), a fast-growing Chinese auto-level chip developer, has just secured its series A+ round financing worth hundreds of millions of yuan. Founded in July 2020, Yuntu has completed five rounds of financing in a short period of two years. Its auto-level MCU chip is widely used in automotive power, body and safety control as well as in driving management and information processing.
DeepWay
DeepWay (Chinese: 京深深向科技), a Beijing-based joint venture company created by Baidu and Lionbridge (Chinese: 莱博智环球科技) in 2020, completed its first external Series A funding round of CNY 460 million (USD 67.1 million) on August 23. The company mainly works on developing and manufacturing smart new energy heavy-duty trucks, it also provides intelligent driving solutions for the truck freight market.
Xiangdao Mobility
On August 15, Chinese ride-hailing service Xiangdao Mobility (Chinese: 享道出行) raised nearly CNY 1 billion (USD 147 million) in its Series B round of financing from investors, including SAIC Motor Group (Chinese: 上汽集团), Momenta (Chinese:魔门塔) and Gaohang Management Consulting (Chinese:高行管理咨询). The company’s post-investment valuation has reached over USD 1 billion, officially entering the ranks of unicorns. Headquartered in Shanghai and founded in 2018, Xiangdao is a strategic mobility service brand under SAIC that is dedicated to providing ride-hailing and taxi services as well as car rental services to both private users and companies.
PhiGent Robotics
PhiGent Robotics (Chinese:鉴智机器人), a self-driving solution provider, closed a USD 30 million Series A round of funding on May 18. The funding round was led by Ince Capital, with follow-on investment from existing shareholders including Atypical Ventures, 5Y Capital and GSR Ventures. In addition, strategic investor Horizon Robotics has provided strong support in the commercial implementation. The money will be mainly used for technology development, mass production implementation and wider commercial deployment. Founded in 2021, PhiGent Robotics focuses on the R&D of autonomous driving solutions with 3D vision as the core.
Jinsheng New Energy
Jinsheng New Energy (Chinese: 金晟新能源), a lithium recycling solutions provider, closed a Series B funding worth billions of yuan. Established in 2010, the company focuses on comprehensive recycling solutions for lithium batteries and has built a complete integrated business ecology in lithium battery recycling, secondary use and recycling, creating a full lithium battery recycling supply chain system.
GAC AION
GAC AION (Chinese: 广汽埃安), the electric car offshoot of Guangzhou Automobile Corporation (GAC), secured a new round of funding before going public on August 26. The company’s post-financing value is estimated to be over CNY 100 billion. Founded in 2017, the company is committed to developing NEVs and NEV-related solutions.
Sunwoda
Sunwoda (Chinese:欣旺达), a high-tech enterprise focusing on the development of lithium-ion battery cells and modules, recently completed a new round of financing worth CNY 6 billion from investors including Li Auto (Chinese: 理想汽车), SAIC Motor (Chinese: 上汽集团) and GAC (Chinese: 广汽集团). Founded in 2014, the company is dedicated to providing electric vehicle battery-system solutions for NEV enterprises worldwide.
Guorun Energy Storage
Guorun Energy Storage (Chinese: 国润储能), a start-up company founded in 2020 and based in Suzhou, closed its angle round of financing worth over CNY 50 million in August. This round of financing was led by Linge Venture Capital (Chinese: 麟阁创投), followed by Unifortune (Chinese: 乾道基金), TusStar Angel Invest (Chinese: 启迪之星创投), ShuiMu Tsinghua Alumn Capital (Chinese: 水木清华校友种子基金) and Innoangel Fund (Chinese: 英诺天使基金). The company focuses on the production of all-vanadium flow battery equipment and core diaphragm materials for flow batteries, water electrolysis for hydrogen production and hydrogen fuel cells.
Corage
Autonomous driving start-up Corage (Chinese: 卡睿智行) completed an angel round funding of nearly CNY tens of millions on August 31, led by Estar Capital (Chinese: 辰韬资本), Amino Capital (Chinese:丰元资本), and PKSHA SPARX Algorithm Fund. Headquartered in Shenzhen and founded in 2021, Corage focuses on the development and commercialization of autonomous driving technologies.