Q2 Summary: 15 Updates in China AV Industry

To followup on the Q1 Recap, it is time for a Q2 summary with 15 events in the China autonomous vehicles industry.

1. DiDi’s autonomous driving division has scored over $500 million external investment led by SoftBank Vision Fund, the largest deal within China AV industry by far. Shortly after, Didi started piloting robotaxi service in designated areas of Shanghai and the first day was streamed via CCTV news channel, probably robotaxi’s debut in public media.
2. AutoNavi, subsidiary of Alibaba, has been the most popular mapping and navigation service provider in China and its mobile product “Amap” aggregates mobility services provided by more than 40 companies, hence well positioned to join the robotaxi race. It was announced that Auto X and WeRide have deployed robotaxi service through Amap in Shanghai and Guangzhou respectively, integrating automated rides seamlessly into the current mobility services.
3. Geely-backed Caocao, another mobility service platform, was revealed by a local media of the plan to test robotaxi service in the 2nd half of 2020. The company has been working on transforming Geely’s EV model “Geometry A” in which the AV technology was powered by DeepRoute.ai.
4. QCraft develops autonomous driving solutions to handle complex urban environments. In April, the company announced an eight-figure USD investment in seed round from IDG Capital, Vision+ Capital, and Tide Capital. Earlier this month (in Q3), QCraft has just launched a robobus pilot program in Suzhou together with the local government.
5. Inceptio Technology, a startup focuses on long-haul trucks and logistics services, announced in April a total funding of $100 million and the progress on scale production of L3 trucks, which has reached the A-sample validation stage. The company was covered in detail in an earlier post Autonomous Logistics Players in China (Part 1).
6. Westwell Lab has been developing smart port solutions including autonomous trucks, with 50 customers worldwide generating revenue. In April, the company just completed a C round funding of over RMB 100 million. Westwell Lab was covered in detail in an earlier post Autonomous Logistics Players in China (Part 2).
7. In June, Tage Idriver showcased the latest smart mining solutions at Baiyun Ebo Mine site in Baotou as part of the launching ceremony for “5G + Smart Mine” demonstration project. Tage was reported to be receiving a RMB 50 million investment from an old shareholder.
8. A new company Lukai appeared in the smart mining field and raised nearly RMB 10 million in an angel round.
9. Henan Yuexin has been involved in the intelligent machinery business. In June, the company set up a joint venture with Cal Battery aiming to develop full stack electric and automated mining solutions. Earlier this year, Henan Yuexin was reported to partner with Huawei on deploying 5G to smart mining.
10. Idriverplus announced the completion of series C1 funding led by HOPU-Arm Innovation Fund. The company is developing software solutions for autonomous driving with commercialized products like sweeping robots and delivery vans. While continuing with the low speed products, it plans to work with OEM on the mass production of L3 vehicles as well as to build fleets for robotaxi operation.
11. Calterah Semiconductor designs and develops CMOS millimeter-wave radar sensor ICs with applications in automotive as well as security and imaging. The company has completed a new round financing where GAC Capital and SAIC Capital are among the investors.
12. Zvision develops MEMS based LiDAR for autonomous applications. Founded in 2017, it has received angel investment in January 2018 and series A in April 2019. Another RMB 70 million as A+ round was just completed in April this year.
13. Hongjing Drive aims to provide hardware and software combined computing platform solutions for L3 and L4 autonomous vehicles. The company announced the completion of pre-A round in May and is working with OEMs on production plans of L1-L2 passenger vehicles and L3-L4 commercial vehicles.
14. Novauto focuses on developing middleware solutions for autonomous driving that are compliable with automotive grade standards like AUTOSAR and ASIL-D. One of the ready products is DDS. Novauto has just raised series A led by Evergrande Group, who is involved in the EV business.
15. Motovis, since founded in 2015, has developed various ADAS products and solutions for pre-equipped and after markets. The company announced an A2 round of RMB 100 million in May.