China-based battery-swapping network operator Aulton secured RMB1.5bn ($232m) yesterday in a series B round co-led by Sinopec Capital, a subsidiary of oil and gas supplier Sinopec, through its Enze Fund.
Government-backed Guangzhou Finance Holdings and Guangzhou GET Investment Holdings co-led the round, which included Guangdong Merchant Venture Capital, CY Capital and Korea Investment Partners’ China-based vehicle.
Aulton has built an electric vehicle (EV) battery management platform for electric vehicles that includes a network of battery exchange stations across some 20 cities in China and other countries including Germany and Poland.
The round took the company’s total funding to about $541m since it was founded in 2016 and helped it achieve unicorn status, meaning its valuation is above $1bn.
SB Energy, the renewable energy subsidiary of telecommunications and internet conglomerate SoftBank, provided funding for Aulton in August 2020, which came two years after a series A round of similarly undisclosed size featuring Nio Capital, the VC firm set up by electric vehicle manufacturer Nio.
