Chinese automotive chip maker Black Sesame Technologies has submitted its application for an initial public offering to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, as disclosed on June 30. China International Capital Corporation (中金公司) and Huatai International（华泰金融控股）are appointed as joint sponsors for the IPO.
Black Sesame Technologies intends to use the net proceeds from the fundraising for the development of smart car vehicle specification-grade SoCs, smart car software platforms and self-driving solutions, etc., as well as to improve its commercialization capabilities.
Founded in 2016, Shanghai-based Black Sesame Technologies specializes in providing automotive-grade intelligent computing system-on-chips (SoCs) and solutions based on SoCs. It is one of the early pioneers in the field of autonomous driving chips. Black Sesame Technologies has secured intentions of purchasing 15 vehicle models from 10 automakers and Tier 1 suppliers. The company has also formed partnerships with over 30 automakers and Tier 1 suppliers, including FAW Group（一汽集团）, Dongfeng Motor（东风集团）, JAC Group（江汽集团）, HYCAN（合创）, ECARX（亿咖通）, Baidu（百度）, Bosch（博世）.
In terms of the competitive landscape, according to Frost & Sullivan, based on the shipment volume in 2022, the company's high-calculation power SoC shipments in China and the world will be about 350,000 pieces and 380,000 pieces respectively, ranking third in China and the world, with a market share of 5.2% and 4.8% respectively, second to NVIDIA and Horizon.
Black Sesame Technologies has completed 9 rounds of financing, and its valuation in August 2022 has exceeded USD 2 billion. The investors include both Dongfeng Asset（东风资产）, SAIC Group（上汽集团）, Wingtech（闻泰科技）, Nio Capital（蔚来资本）, SK China（SK中国）, Xiaomi Changjiang Industry Fund（小米长江产业基金）, China Automotive Chips Alliance（中国汽车芯片产业创新战略联盟）, Beyond Capital（博原资本）, and other industrial capital, but also include Summitview Capital（武岳峰资本）, YZIG（扬子江基金） SL Capital（君海创芯）, NLVC（北极光创投）, ENO Capital（一诺资本）, and other financial capital.
Black Sesame Technologies said that the company has been at the forefront of the development of China's intelligent driving industry in the new round of the automotive industry revolution. With the large-scale mass production of its SoCs and continuous iteration and upgrading of its solutions, Black Sesame is well-positioned to seize the vast market opportunities to achieve strong growth in the foreseeable future.