US-based autonomous driving software developer Plus, which counts corporates SAIC, Wanxiang, Full Truck Alliance and Quanta Computer as investors, has called off a proposed reverse merger.
Founded in 2016, Plus is working on autonomous vehicle technology intended for use in driverless long-haul trucks.
The company agreed a deal with special purpose acquisition company Hennessy Capital Investment Corp V in May this year which would have involved them joining forces at a $3.3bn valuation and inheriting the latter’s listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market.
However, Plus and Hennessy have decided to withdraw from the deal citing recent non-US regulatory developments. Plus is now considering restructuring parts of its business.
David Liu, co-founder and chief executive of Plus, said: “Plus has achieved tremendous momentum in executing against our plans to bring autonomous trucks to market globally. In 2021, we started delivery of our driver-in autonomous driving solution, PlusDrive, to customers and received thousands of pre-orders.
“We also completed a fully driverless truck demo on a highway that showcased the future of trucking. We are grateful for the support we have received from the Hennessy team, whose commitment to sustainable commercial transportation technologies we share.”
Plus had closed a $420m round in March 2021 featuring automotive component producer Wanxiang’s International Investment subsidiary and SAIC Capital, a vehicle for carmaker SAIC, in addition to trucking services marketplace Full Truck Alliance and electronics manufacturer Quanta.
FountainVest Partners, ClearVue Partners, Phi Zoyi Capital, Sequoia Capital China, Mayfield Fund, Millennium Technology Value Partners, Guotai Junan International and Citic CPE also contributed to the round.
The company had received an undisclosed amount of series A-plus funding in 2018, and SAIC, Full Truck Alliance, Sequoia Capital China, China Growth Capital, Lightspeed China Partners, Mayfield and GSR Ventures were all existing backers as of this year.
