Chinese autonomous driving player RoboSense raises $45m
RoboSense, a VC-backed company based in China that develops sensing technology for autonomous cars, has raised about $45 million from strategic investors including Alibaba Group and domestic carmaker SAIC Motor Group.
Beijing Automotive Industry Holding and Alibaba's Cainiao logistics business are among the other backers. According to a statement, the deal marks the largest round ever for a Chinese company in the same technological niche.
RoboSense's focus area is automated perception technology known as LiDAR that encompasses a range of integrated hardware and software components such as cameras, sensors, chips, and algorithms. Previous investors include Haitong Securities, Fosun Group, Oriental Fortune Capital, Kinzon Capital, Guangdong Investment, Pu He Capital, and Shenzhen Oriental Fortune Capital.
The company claims to have more than 50% market share of all LiDAR equipment sold in Asia. The latest funding will be used to increase market penetration, and advance operations in product development and long-term manufacturing. It will also support further R&D efforts in autonomous driving technologies including solid-state LiDAR and artificial intelligence-enabled sensing algorithms.
Autonomous driving has become a popular investment segment in Asia on the back of various social and economic themes such as smart city development. However, the industry faces a number of significant challenges such as regulatory hurdles, safety concerns, and cultural barriers to adoption.
Recent activity includes a $32 million Series B for Yihang, which claims to be the only Chinese autonomous driving start-up to have received mass production orders from original equipment manufacturers.
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