Guotai leads $66m Series B extension for China's Innovusion

Shunwei Capital participated in the round, while existing investors such as Nio Capital, Temasek Holdings, and Eight Roads Ventures re-upped. This follows a $60 million Series B in May that valued the company at $300 million.

Innovusion is best known as a supplier to domestic electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Nio. Nio Capital is an investment arm of the EV maker that commits balance sheet and third-party capital.

LiDAR - which stands for light detection and ranging - is a technology that uses light to measure distance. Innovusion claims that its LiDAR can detect small obstacles, such as pedestrians, at long distances, even in heavy rain. The technology aids vehicle navigation through object perception and simultaneous localization and mapping.

This fresh capital will be mainly used to promote the large-scale mass production of LiDAR for Nio’s new model ET7, which is scheduled for release next year. Innovusion will also push forward various other in-house projects. It is actively communicating and cooperating with other car manufacturers, according to a statement.

The company was founded in 2016 by Junwei Bao, formerly a director in Baidu's autonomous driving division. It is headquartered in California and has a China office in Suzhou, Jiangsu province.

Innovusion raised a $30 million Series A in 2018 led by Nio Capital. F-Prime Capital, Eight Roads, and Gaorong Capital also took part. Gaorong led a round of undisclosed size in 2017, according to AVCJ Research.

Other Chinese LiDAR specialists that have received VC funding include Hesai Technology and RoboSense. 

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Expansion
• Technology
• China
• automobiles
• Nio Capital
• Shunwei Capital Partners
• Temasek Holdings
• Eight Roads