China-based autonomous driving technology developer AutoX has raised tens of millions of dollars in a series A3 round led by carmaker Dongfeng Motor, 36Kr reported yesterday.
The transaction was closed several months ago and AutoX is already in talks with investors to raise a further $100m in a new round, the company said.
Founded in 2016, AutoX is working on self-driving technology that would enable car manufacturers to easily integrate required software and hardware into their vehicles.
The series A3 capital was raised to ramp up mass production of a product for commercial vehicles following a pilot scheme in San Jose, California, in 2018 that involved it delivering groceries.
AutoX, which is headquartered in Hong Kong, is expected to use the proposed new funding to expand into mainland China, beginning with the city of Shenzhen, to recruit additional staff and to support research and development activities.
Dongfeng and fellow automotive manufacturer SAIC Motor have signed partnership agreements to use AutoX’s technology in their cars, and AutoX has also agreed to launch a platform called Qin Pro with carmaker BYD to accelerate the integration of autonomous driving technology into electric cars.
AutoX had secured an undisclosed amount of series A funding from private equity firm Capital Today, before semiconductor producer MediaTek injected an undisclosed sum in 2017. It had raised $43m by August 2018 according to TechCrunch.
SAIC Motor and private investors Zhang Shoucheng and Xu Xiaopeng are also among AutoX’s shareholders, though it is unclear when they invested.
