Electric vehicle battery producer Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) has led a $120m funding round for China-based autonomous vehicle technology developer Inceptio Technology, Reuters reported today, citing a company statement.
The round included Nio Capital, the investment firm formed by electric carmaker Nio, as well as logistics services provider GLP and fleet management service G7.
Inceptio is developing autonomous driving systems in partnership with automotive manufacturers such as Dongfeng Motor and Sinotruk that will be used in commercial trucking.
G7, GLP and Nio Capital founded the company in April 2018 and all three participated in its $100m series A round in April this year alongside undisclosed other investors.
Inceptio’s technology is eventually intended to form the basis of a system that will combine software and hardware and which will be able to be installed in trucks during production to facilitate a nationwide autonomous truck network for logistics purposes.
The company is initially concentrating on level 3 autonomous driving technology, which enables vehicles to drive from one location to another in normal conditions without human involvement. It plans to move to level 4, in which the autonomous system is the default, in future.
CATL is currently collaborating with truck manufacturers on a business model that will involve trucks making use of its battery swapping technology, according to Reuters.
Image courtesy of Inceptio Technology.
