For the automobile sector, we at EqualOcean have identified 20 companies worth watching in Q1 2023. The core criterion is to receive venture capital investments of over USD 10 million on average or the equivalent value in CNY in a single round. When compiling the list, we also considered factors such as growth prospects, brand influences, and reputation, as well as planned expansions.
The companies spotlighted are of all sizes and at different levels of maturity, consisting of Series D firms to growth-stage startups whose innovations are currently nothing more than a much-hyped concept. We believe that this mix of players, large and small, well-known and obscure, established and incipient, and the investors that throw their weight behind them, present our readers with a Who's Who: It shines a light on the future directions of China's industry and tech evolution. What's more, we hope the EqualOcean series will offer insights for interested investors, entrepreneurs and China-focused observers.
Siengine
Hubei Siengine Technology Co., Ltd. (Siengine), a provider of 7-nanometer automotive-grade high-end processors, successfully completed the A-round financing of nearly CNY one billion. The financing funds are planned to be used for the mass supply of existing products and the next stage of research and development and deployment of automotive-grade high-computing power automotive chips.
Siengine Technology completed its round A round of financing led by Sequoia Capital, Neusoft, Boyuan Capital, SMIC, Jiayu Capital, Guosheng Capital, Hongzhuo Capital, Yubai Capital, Yuexiu Industrial Fund, ICBC International, etc. participated in the financing delivery. Index Capital acted as financial advisor.
TENWAYS
The electric bicycle (E-bike) brand TENWAYS has recently completed a round A financing of CNY 300 million, of which the A2 round was led by the world-renowned consumer investment company L Catterton (Luwei Kaiteng). Sole Financial Advisor. According to the official statement, the funds raised in this round will be mainly used for product research and development, marketing promotion, supply chain expansion, and team building. The previous A1 round was invested by Huaying Capital and other institutions. At the end of 2021, TENWAYS received the Pre-A round of financing exclusively invested by Hillhouse Ventures (GL Ventures).
Linkcharging
New energy technology service provider Xi'an Linkcharging Technology Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Lingchong New Energy") completed a round of financing of nearly CNY 200 million, led by Junhao Capital, Langmafeng Venture Capital, Shaanxi Capital, Corey Investment and Jingyinghui Capital followed up. This round of financing will be used for research and development investment, market expansion, and production capacity improvement.
Linkcharging mainly focuses on products such as smart charging and swapping, on-board charging, and smart detection in the whole life cycle of new energy vehicles, as well as smart microgrid and energy storage-related products for building a new power system under the "carbon peak and carbon neutrality" Research and development, while relying on ecological cloud platform technologies such as charging networks and smart micro-grid, provide customers with energy services in all scenarios and in the full life cycle.
Skyworth Automobile
Skyworth Automobile announced a series A financing round worth hundreds of millions of CNY. It is a new energy vehicle manufacturer with the qualifications to produce a full range of commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles. The main business includes R&D and production of new energy passenger vehicles, large and medium-sized buses, light buses, logistics vehicles, special vehicles, and core components of new energy vehicles.
NEWRIZON
NEWRIZON, an intelligent networked new energy commercial vehicle, received a B+ round investment of over 100 million CNY from NIO Capital. It is reported that this round of financing will be mainly used for the research and development, mass production, and marketing of light trucks and vans, as well as the research and development iterations of core technologies such as three-electric systems and intelligent network connections, and accelerate the integration of supply chains and further accelerate domestic and foreign markets. expand.
Founded in September 2020, NEWRIZON is a new energy commercial vehicle brand founded by Huang Chendong, former senior vice president of NIO Weilai. The company has released two products, EC1, and IC1. Among them, EC1 has sold more than 1,000 units within one year of its launch.
Free Tech
On January 31, Freetech announced the completion of hundreds of millions of CNY in a series B+ round of financing, invested by CCCC Blue Fund, Qingyan Capital, Yunxiang Wuzhen Strategic Investment, and Taihe Capital continued to serve as the exclusive financial advisor. This is another strategic financing after Freetech received nearly 100 million US dollars in financing in November 2022. So far, Freetech's Series B round of financing has accumulated nearly 1 billion yCNY This round of financing will continue to be used for the iteration of Freetech's technology products for high-end intelligent driving, and will continue to lead the commercialization of high-end intelligent driving solutions with technological innovation and commercialization practices.
LEGEND ENERGY
On January 6, LEGEND ENERGY, an innovative industrial and commercial energy storage company, completed a new round of financing. This round of financing was led by Joy Capital, followed by Qingxin Capital, Energy Chain, and Bigao New Energy. Yunxiu Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor. This round of financing is the third round of financing completed by LEGEND ENERGY within 2022, with a cumulative financing amount of several hundred million CNY. After the financing is completed, LEGEND ENERGY will accelerate the construction of user-side energy storage smart energy ecology.
DeepWay
DeepWay, a smart new energy truck startup company, recently completed a 770 million CNY A+ round of equity financing, with cumulative financing of over 1.2 billion CNY This round of financing was jointly led by Weiqiao Entrepreneurship Group and Softbank China Capital, followed by old shareholders Qiming Venture Capital and others.
The funds raised in this round will be mainly used for the manufacture of DeepWay intelligent new energy heavy trucks and investment in the research and development of high-level intelligent driving systems to ensure the production and delivery of vehicles.
DECO
Intelligent driving and steering system provider - Tianjin Deco Intelligent Control Co., Ltd. (DECO) announced the completion of nearly 100 million CNY in B+ round financing, led by Rongyi Investment, Jinsha Capital, Qianhai Pengchen, Zhixuan venture capital follow-up investment. This round of funds will be used to increase the production capacity of the company's high-end intelligent steering products, the iterative implementation of intelligent driving by-wire control technology solutions, and the introduction of high-end talents in the industry.
DECO Automotive focuses on the R&D, production, and sales of EPS systems for various vehicles. Currently, DECO has achieved R&D of vehicle-level SBW systems and started the mass production of SBW products, which makes DECO a leading enterprise in domestic SBW technology for intelligent driving.
Jekun Auto
Jekun Auto" received 100 million CNY in C+ round financing, led by Zhongke Kechuang. In September last year, the company just completed the 100 million CNY round of financing led by Binfu Capital and FengyuCNYapital
Jekun Auto" was established in 2013 and is headquartered in Guangzhou. It is an Internet service platform for the automotive aftermarket industry. Through the S2B2C model, the platform integrates upstream suppliers and downstream terminal auto service stores and then expands in combination with value-added services in the aftermarket. The business areas cover car beauty, maintenance, sheet metal painting, car modification, used cars, car insurance inquiries, and road rescue wait.
Yiwei
Bite Fund completed an exclusive strategic investment of tens of millions of CNY in Chengdu Yiwei New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Yiwei Automobile").
Chengdu Yiwei New Energy Vehicle Co., Ltd. was established in September 2018. It is an enterprise focusing on special vehicle electrification chassis design, electrical system integration and vehicle control, and intelligent network information technology. At present, it is deeply cultivating the subdivision track of new energy sanitation vehicles and is committed to growing into a complete vehicle company.
Megatronix
Automobile intelligent service provider Megatronix (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. completed the series D1 round of financing. This round of financing was led by M31 Capital, Road Capital, and Nanshan Capital, followed by old shareholders Muhua Kechuang and Redpoint China, and Huaxing Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor. It is reported that the funds will be used for the research and development and mass production of its new batch of AI-driven intelligent auto parts.
Navigation Brilliance
Smart Navigation (Qingdao) Technology Co., Ltd., (Navigation Brilliance), a supplier of unmanned driving systems, completed tens of millions of CNY in Series A financing, led by Tongchuang Weiye and followed by Shandong Talent Fund. It is understood that this round of financing will be used for the optimization and market development of ship unmanned systems and ship electrification technology products.
IN ONE
Yiwei Technology (IN ONE), a provider of integrated solutions for new energy vehicle electronic control assemblies, has completed tens of millions of CNY in Series B financing, led by Huagong. Previously, Yiwei Technology had received a seed round investment from Ai Xiang Investment.
It is understood that this round of financing will be used to enhance research and development strength and strengthen technology and market investment.
CDTL
Hangzhou Contemporary e-Drive TechnologyCo., LTD. (CDTL) completed its series A round of financing worth tens of millions of CNY, led by XIngzheng Chuangxin Capital. The company was founded in 2017, with a wheel-side drive system as its core business, which is a national high-tech company and the alliance of famous battery manufacturer CATL.
BRETON
BRETON Technology Co., Ltd. has completed the C+ round of financing. In 2022, BRETON achieved a total equity + debt financing of over 1 billion CNY.
The C+ round investors are Hunan Xiangtan Caixin Chanxing Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership), Tianjin Xingyue Puyu Technology Co., Ltd., Jiaxing Xuying Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership), Jinhua City Boleidun Talent Equity Fund Partnership (limited partnership), with a total investment of 579 million CNY. In 2022, BRETON's C round and C+ round of equity financing will total about 750 million yCNY, and debt financing will exceed 250 million CNY.
Surestar
On January 28, Surestar announced that it has recently received an investment of 180 million CNY led by Huiyou Capital, and the follow-up investors are Guoliantong Shuo and Hongsong Capital. This financing optimizes the company's equity structure and will accelerate mass production and large-scale application of lidar in the future. Surestar was established in 2005, focusing on the development of lidar, covering two business groups of automotive electronics and digital twins.
CYBERSPACE
The high-end car brand CYBERSPACE announced that it has completed the Pre-B1 round of financing of nearly 100 million CNY. This round of financing was led by Hanhui Capital, followed by Haizhu City Development Group and Yuexiu Industrial Fund. Light Source Capital served as the financial advisor. The investors introduced in this round of financing include state-owned assets industry funds and market-oriented capital with extensive layouts upstream and downstream of the new energy vehicle industry chain, which will provide strong support for Chaojing Auto's in-depth layout in the supply chain in the future.
Youbei Yangche
The commercial vehicle digital service platform "Youbei Yangche" successfully introduced strategic financiers and completed tens of millions of CNY in an angel round financing. This round of financing was led by Shenzhen Bay Angel Fund III, which is operated and managed by Donghai Investment Holdings. It is reported that the financing will be used for the upgrade of the integrated digital service platform of "Youbei Car Maintenance" under Youbei Technology, as well as the upgrade of the national service network.
Hahachuxing
On March 2, Hahachuxing recently completed a new round of equity financing of tens of millions of CNY. This round of financing is positioned in the Pre-A round (financing before the A round), which will be mainly used for team building, product improvement, and strengthening the local market. Hahachuxing is a comprehensive inter-city digital travel service platform. The main business of the platform is an inter-city ride, inter-city special car, and inter-city same-day delivery service.
