China autonomous driving start-up Inceptio raises $270m

Other investors include Deppon Express, IDG Capital, CMB International, CMG-SDIC Capital, Mirae Asset, Eight Roads, and Broad Vision Funds. Existing backers such as GLP's Hidden Hill Capital, Eastern Bell Capital, domestic vehicle battery manufacturer CATL, and Nio Capital - which is controlled by electric vehicle maker Nio - re-upped，according to a statement.

It is the second China autonomous driving investment in a matter of days. Geometrical-Pal announced that it had raised nearly RMB400 million ($62 million) across three tranches of pre-Series A funding.

Since 2019, Inceptio has been developed level-three (L3) autonomous driving for heavy trucks in collaboration with leading domestic manufacturers. At L3, vehicles have conditional autonomy, but a human override is still required.

The A Sample L3 truck - developed with state-owned Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles - was the first vehicle of its kind to be certified for mass-production in China. Inceptio said in November 2020 that it hoped to achieve mass production by the end of 2021. Meanwhile, it is launched a separate project with China National Heavy Duty Truck.

Inceptio is also building an autonomous driving freight system with support from local cargo handlers and fleet operators. Its ultimate goal is to provide a transportation-as-a-service (TaaS) freight network. This asset-light model is expected to generate revenue earlier than in-house managed fleets. Inceptio said last year that it has signed service contracts with over 100 logistics companies.

The company raised a $120 million round led by CATL in November 2020, which followed a $100 million Series A six months earlier. The new capital will go towards a full-stack self-developed truck autopilot system and the acceleration of electric vehicle deployment.

Autonomous trucking appeals because of its large addressable market, the ease of navigating highways versus city streets, and the fact that there are essentially no concerns around driver or passenger safety when transporting goods.

Inceptio's rivals include TuSimple, which completed a $1.3 billion US IPO earlier this year, and PlusAI. The latter has produced an L3 autonomous truck in collaboration with FAW Jiefang, China’s largest truck maker. 

Geometrical-Pal develops a 4D millimeter-wave imaging radar to replace the traditional millimeter-wave radar used in spatial perception of targets. It has accumulated a large amount of road test data and achieved small batch delivery in a self-driving container truck and heavy-duty vehicle project at Shanghai Yangshan Port.

At the same time, the company is collaborating with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) on a new passenger car model scheduled for delivery in 2023. It is currently undergoing pre-installation tests.

The first tranche of the pre-Series A was solely provided by Matrix Partners China. Xiaomi Yangtze River Industry Fund led the second tranche, with participation from Baidu Ventures and Matrix. The third featured existing investors such as chip designer Silergy Corporation, Glory Ventures, and Matrix, plus new backer Puhua Capital.

There are numerous competitors to Geometrical-Pal that provide autonomous driving services or algorithms. They include Momenta and CalmCar, which recently closed Series C rounds of $500 million and $150 million, respectively.

 

 

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Expansion
• Technology
• China
• PAG
• JD.com
• Eight Roads
• Meituan-Dianping
• Nio Capital
• Eastern Bell Venture Capital
• IDG capital
• Hidden Hill Capital
• autonomous driving