We at EqualOcean tracked the major funding rounds or industry events that took place in China’s automotive market in February 2023. 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.
Lanshen
Polymer functional material company, Xi'an Lanshen New Material Technology Co. (Chinese: 西安蓝深新材料科技有限公司), recently completed a Pre-IPO round of financing of nearly CNY 200 million (USD 30 million). This round of financing is mainly used for the production and research of polymer resin materials and the supplement of the company's daily working capital.
Oritek
The smart car chip and solution company Oritek (Chinese: 欧冶半导体) announced the completion of several hundred million yuan A1 round of financing, this round of financing led SDIC Fund (Chinese: 国投创投), SAIC Venture Capital (Chinese: 上汽创投), Linxin Capital (Chinese: 临芯资本), SNDVC (Chinese: 苏高新创投), Forebright Capital (Chinese: 光远投资) and Qingke Capital (Chinese: 青稞资本) joint investment.
Mindflow
Recently, Mindflow (Chinese:曼孚科技), an AI infrastructure and data intelligence platform service provider, announced that it has completed the Pre-B round of financing of CNY 50 million (USD 7 million) in July 2022, and the accumulated financing amount in the past three years has exceeded several hundred million yuan. The investors of this round include Kaifu Capital (Chinese:凯复资本) and the company's management team, and the funds raised will be mainly used for product development, self-driving data labeling market expansion, etc.
RHINO Tech
RHINO Tech (Chinese: 辉羲智能) recently announced that it completed an angel+ round of financing worth hundreds of millions of CNY after bagging an angel round of financing. The investment was jointly led by Shunwei Capital (Chinese: 顺为资本) and Xiaomi Group (Chinese: 小米集团), and followed by CICV Industrial Fund (Chinese: 国汽投资), Lianxing Capital (Chinese: 连星资本), Cathay Capital (Chinese: 凯辉基金) and more. This round of funding will be used for product development, mass production and market expansion to continue to make efforts to empower high-level intelligent driving
DECO
Intelligent driving and steering system provider, DECO Automotive Co., Ltd. (Chinese: 天津德科智控股份有限公司) announced the completion of nearly CNY 100 million (USD 15 million) in B+ round financing. This round of funds will be used to increase the production capacity of the company's high-end intelligent steering products, iterative implementation of intelligent driving by-wire control technology solutions, and the introduction of high-end talents in the industry.
Hesai Technology
On February 9, Hesai Technology (NASDAQ: HSAI, Chinese: 禾赛科技), a global leader in LiDAR solutions, raised USD 190 million in a U.S. initial public offering (IPO), the largest by a Chinese company since 2021. With a valuation of USD 2.62 billion, the company's opening price rose to USD 23.75 per share, marking a 25 per cent increase on its offering price of USD 19 per share. Hesai Technology has thus become the largest Chinese group to go public in the US, ever since Didi raised over $4 billion before a data security scandal tanked its stock days later in 2021.
ZEEKR
On February 13, ZEEKR (Chinese: 极氪), a premium electric marque of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (Chinese: 吉利集团), announced its completion of a USD 750 million series A financing round, targeting a post-money valuation of USD 13 billion. This financing round was jointly invested by Mobileye's founder and CEO Amnon Shashua, Chinese battery maker CATL (Chinese: 宁德时代), Yuexiu Industrial Fund (Chinese: 越秀产业基金), Tongshang Fund (Chinese: 通商基金) and Quzhou Xin'an Intelligent Manufacturing Fund (Chinese: 衢州信安智造基金). The funds raised will be used primarily for ZEEKR's product and technology R&D, global business development and user experience enhancement.
Ride Future
Recently, the narrow-body electric vehicle company Ride Future (Chinese: 坐骑科技) completed tens of millions of angel rounds of financing. The investors include Haibei Capital (Chinese: 海贝资本), Essential Capital (元航资本) and Angel Capital (AC资本). This round of financing is mainly used for vehicle R&D, as well as the company's daily capital replenishment.
Qianchen Auto
Recently, Shanghai Qianchen Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. (Chinese: 前晨汽车, hereinafter referred to as Qianchen Auto) announced that it has completed the B+ round of over 100 million RMB (15 million USD) in financing, invested by NIO Capital (Chinese: 蔚来资本). The funds raised will mainly be used for the R&D, mass production and market promotion of light trucks, as well as the R&D iteration of core technologies, eventually accelerate the integration of the supply chain and the expansion overseas.
Fullong Technology
Recently, Fullong Technology (Chinese: 弗浪科技), an intelligent driving company, completed tens of millions of angel round financing from Yangzhou Fenglin Capital (Chinese: 扬州风林资本). This round of funding will be mainly used for the company's R&D of assisted driving products and iterative upgrades.
Vertax
Recently, the air travel innovation company Vertax (Chinese:御风未来) announced that it had completed an additional round of financing in December last year, led by Skyview Fund (Chinese: 天善资本). This round of funding will be used mainly for the R&D, manufacturing, flight test and airworthiness certification of M1, the 2-ton eVTOL (Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing).
VELOTRIC
On February 23, VELOTRIC, a company in the field of electric bicycles, recently completed a round A financing of CNY 50 million (USD 7 million). This round of financing was invested by Fosun Ruizheng Capital (Chinese: 复星锐正) and Redpoint Ventures China (Chinese: 红点中国), where Thriving Capital (Chinese: 元启资本) served as the exclusive financial advisor. The latest round of financing brings VELOTRIC’s total financing to more than CNY 70 million.
PCG Power
PCG Power (Chinese: 保碧新能源）, an integrated energy management service provider jointly incubated by Poly Capital （Chinese: 保利资本） and Country Garden Ventures (Chinese: 碧桂园创投), announced the successful completion of its CNY 500 million (USD 72 million) Series A financing round. This round of financing is the first external financing for PCG Power. The investors are strategic investors and industrial capital, including Huamei International (Chinese: 华美国际), NIO Capital (Chinese: 蔚来资本), Eastern bell Capital (Chinese: 钟鼎资本), Rocket Capital (Chinese: 星航资本), several listed companies in the solar PV industry chain, etc.
Xinrex Energy Technology
Xinrex Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (Chinese: 新瑞能源技术有限公司), a provider of energy storage system solutions, has completed a Pre-A round of financing of nearly CNY 100 million (USD 15 million), led by Infore Investment (Chinese: 盈峰投资）and followed by ZJU Joint Innovation Investment (Chinese: 浙大联创), New Alliance Capital (Chinese: 联新资本), New Pearl Group Co., Ltd. (Chinese: 新明珠集团 ) and Weina Huiyu (Chinese: 维纳汇宇). This round of financing funds will be mainly used for business expansion, product development and daily operations.
Rivotek Technology
Rivotek Technology (Chinese: 润芯微科技) has completed its Series A financing round with investors including BAIC Capital (Chinese: 北汽产投), FWI Capital (Chinese: 永鑫资本), and Lead Investment (Chinese: 先导产投). With the support of the new financing, Rivotek Technology will continue to promote the development of products related to intelligent networked vehicles and accelerate the expansion of software-defined vehicle business.