Chinese autonomous mining vehicle provider raises $14m
Cathay Capital has led an extended tranche of Series A funding worth RMB100 million ($14 million) for Waytous, a Chinese autonomous driving start-up focused on the mining industry.
Including the first tranche led by SAIF Partners last July, the company - also known as Vipioneers - has raised more than RMB200 million. Existing investors Sigma Square Capital and Hina Group also took part in the new round. Haichuang Qianfeng, a fund-of-funds backed by the Shandong provincial government, came in as a new investor.
Waytous previously received an angel round from Cash Capital – a subsidiary of Chinese Academy of Science Holdings (CASH).
The company has developed a one-stop solution for serving unmanned mining areas. It can automatically dispatch self-driving trucks - that typically travel at speeds of around 20 kilometers per hour - to operate in specific routes. Semi-autonomous mining technology and smart auxiliary vehicles are also supplied.
Founded in 2014, Waytous' chief scientist is Feiyue Wang, who designed the world’s first fully automatic driverless truck - capable of loading, digging and transportation - in the 1990s while at the University of Arizona's robotics and automation lab. It was put into commercial use by BHP Group.
The Waytous solution was first implemented last September at two mining areas in Inner Mongolia, following a five-month trial. One of the sites is operated by China Datang Corporation, a leading power generation company listed in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Maoxiang Li, a partner at Cathay Capital, said the firm will help Vipioneers expand into markets in Africa and North America, according to a statement.
Most of the private equity investment in China's autonomous driving space has targeted mainstream vehicle manufacturers such as Pony.ai, which recently secured $462 million in funding. UISEE Technology is among the more niche players, focusing on luggage transportation services. It received a Series B round from Germany's Bosch Group.
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