Byton, a China-based electric car developer backed by internet company Tencent, plans to raise $300m to $400m in funding at a valuation of at least $1.2bn, China Money Network reported today.
The company, which was formerly known as Future Mobility, is said to be in talks with an unnamed Chinese central government institution for the cash injection.
Founded in 2016, Byton is developing a range of electric vehicles including a sports utility vehicle with autonomous driving capability that it introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last month.
An unnamed source told China Money Network that Byton aims to raise as much as $600m in capital in order to commercially launch its first vehicle, but did not offer a timeframe on when it intends to close all the funding.
Byton’s last funding involved it securing $200m in series B capital from an unnamed investment fund in August 2017 at a $750m post-money valuation.
The company currently has a manufacturing plant under construction and is targeting a 2019 release for its first vehicle. Car dealership group China Harmony New Energy Auto Holding invested $30m in Byton in December 2016 and owns a 33.3% stake.
Tencent, China Harmony and contract manufacturing services provider Foxconn had previously supplied an undisclosed sum of series A capital for Byton in July 2016.