Startup Haomo raises 1 billion yuan in A financing round

Chinese autonomous driving startup Haomo.AI said on Wednesday it has raised nearly 1 billion yuan ($150 million) in its Series A financing round, valuing the two-year old company at over $1 billion.

Investors include GL Ventures, Meituan, Hong Kong-listed Shoucheng Holdings Limited, Qualcomm Ventures, and JZ Capital.

The Beijing-based startup said it will spend the newly raised funds on research and development as well as building its talent pool.

"It (the Series A round) marks the first victory we have ever gained in our battle for survival in the protracted autonomous driving race," said Haomao Chairman Zhang Kai.

Prior to the Series A round, Haomo raised hundreds of millions of yuan in February this year from Shougang Fund, Meituan, and GL Ventures.

CEO Gu Weihao said the startup's Level 2 autonomous driving system will be available in 34 models this year, up from five Great Wall Motors' models now.

He said over 1 million passenger vehicles will feature this system in the next three years.

In addition to providing Level 2 system, Haomo also produces unmanned Level 4 logistics vehicles.

In this area, the company has partners including Meituan, Dmall, which is supermarket chain Wumart's on-demand grocery delivery unit, and Alibaba's DAMO Academy.

Haomo has built a 5,000 square-meter plant in Baoding, Hebei province, the biggest of its kind worldwide in terms of production capacity.

Its logistics vehicles are now delivering groceries to residents for Dmall in the district of Shunyi, Beijing and transporting e-commerce parcels at universities for Alibaba in cities such as Wuhan, Hubei province, and Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

"Digital transformation is sweeping across all major industries and markets, including the automotive industry," said James Shen, managing director of Haomo investor Qualcomm Ventures China.

Around 20 percent of new passenger vehicles in China now have Level 2 capabilities, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

lifusheng@chinadaily.com.cn