Idriverplus, a China-based, corporate venturing-backed supplier of driverless vehicle and robotics systems, has raised more than RMB100m ($14.6m) in an extended series C round from investment firms Xin Ding Capital and Huaxia Weiming Investment.
In May, Idriverplus raised an eight-figure dollar sum in a series C1 round led by Hopu-Arm Innovation Fund, a venture capital fund backed by chip developer Arm (being acquired by peer Nvidia for up to $40bn currently).
Idriverplus initially raised an undisclosed amount of series A funding from Baidu Ventures, a subsidiary of internet group Baidu, as well as e-commerce firm JD.com and VC firm Shunwei Capital.
Baidu Ventures’ Apollo Fund led a series B1 round for the company that closed at more than $141m in April 2018 according to media reports. GF Xinde Investment Management, Infore Group and Changping S&T Industry Fund added an undisclosed amount of series B2 funding shortly afterwards.
The company will use the money in research and development, deploying robotaxi fleets and ramping up production of cleaning robots and other specialized robotics products.
Founded in 2015, Idriverplus is developing software for use in self-driving vehicles comprising both passenger cars and commercial vehicles to be utilised in areas such as environmental sanitation, logistics and industrial parks.
