Nio, the China-based electric car developer formerly known as NextEV, has raised RMB600m ($87m) in a round co-led by internet groups Tencent and Baidu, China Money Network reported yesterday, citing local media.
Electronics producer Lenovo and IDG Capital, the Chinese venture capital affiliate of media company International Data Group, also invested in the round, as did private equity group TPG, hedge fund manager Hillhouse Capital and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC Private.
Nio is working on smart electric vehicles (EVs) and in November 2016 completed its first model, a supercar it claims is the world’s fastest EV. It aims to release a self-driving smart EV in the US in 2020.
The round was closed at a post-money valuation of $2.9bn, and follows reports last week that Baidu, which recently announced its own autonomous far research division, was planning a $100m investment in the company.
Tencent and Hillhouse had previously joined VC firms Sequoia Capital and Joy Capital for a $500m round in 2015 that was followed by an undisclosed amount from Lenovo, TPG, Hopu Investment Management and the Singaporean state-owned Temasek in July 2016.
Nio, which received an undisclosed amount of early-stage funding from Tencent, e-commerce firm JD.com and VC firm Shunwei Capital in 2015, has now reportedly raised a total of about $1bn since it was founded in 2014.
– Photo courtesy of NIO