GM invests $300m in China autonomous driving player Momenta

Momenta already has substantial strategic investment from traditional carmakers, as well as from PE firms. Its $500 million Series C, which closed in March, featured the likes of SAIC Motor, Toyota Motor Corporation, and Mercedes-Benz, as well as engineering heavyweight Robert Bosch. Nio Capital, a GP led by the founder of Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio, is also an investor.

The company primarily provides sensor systems for level-two (L2) and L3 driving, where there is partial or conditional automation with the driver able to override. It is also working on an L4 offering where the car is fully autonomous in certain environments but still needs a driver in the seat.

Momenta’s product suite includes Mpilot, mass-production sensors and software for use in highway driving, valet parking, and driving in crowded urban areas. In each case, cameras are integrated with high-definition maps and forecasting technologies. The data generated by vehicles using Mpilot is used to improve L4 unmanned navigation algorithms.

Momenta refers to the L4 product as "flywheel L4." The idea is that by creating an automated closed-loop comprising mass-production data and algorithms, the flywheel will turn ever faster, propelling Momenta towards large-scale implementation. L4 R&D began in mid-2019, a prototype was released by year-end, and it took a further six months to install it across a variety of vehicles for road tests.

While the likes of Pony.ai and WeRide are developing their own autonomous vehicles, Momenta supplies technology to original equipment manufacturer partners. The first cars equipped with Mpilot were scheduled to enter mass production this year. Momenta Go – an L4 system for robotaxis – is expected to achieve large-scale deployment by 2024. The nearer-term goal is to eliminate safety drivers in some vehicles by 2022.

“Customers in China are embracing electrification and advanced self-driving technology faster than anywhere else in the world, and the agreement between GM and Momenta will accelerate our deployment of next-generation solutions tailor-made for our consumers in China,” said Julian Blissett (pictured, right, with Momenta CEO Xudong Cao), executive vice president of GM and president of GM China, in a statement.

The company plans to collaborate with Momenta on autonomous vehicle technologies, much like it does with other players in the space globally.

In June, GM said it was on course to invest $35 billion in electric vehicle and autonomous vehicle technology between 2020 and 2025. This includes expansion of design and engineering facilities in China, increasing scope to deliver over-the-air software updates and 5G connectivity services, and preparing a roll-out of its Ultium battery platform.

Yunfeng Capital, Temasek Holdings, GGV Capital, Shunwei Capital, Tencent Holdings, and Cathay Capital were among the other participants in Momenta’s Series C. The company also counts Pagoda Investment, China Merchants Group, CCB International, Blue Lake Capital, Sinovation Ventures, Zhen Fund, and various government-linked funds as backers. It achieved unicorn status in 2018.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Expansion
• Technology
• China
• Transportation
• autonomous driving
• automobiles
• General Motors