SHANGHAI: Neolix Technologies Co, a Chinese maker of driverless delivery vehicles, has raised US$400mil to fuel its global expansion.
Boyu Capital led the Series E round, the startup said yesterday in a statement.
New investors including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s AEF NextGen Fund, Monolith Management, Granite Asia Capital and Temasek Holdings Pte-backed Vertex as well as existing shareholders including Stone Venture and Trustar Capital also participated.
The investment brings the total capital raised by Neolix to more than US$1.4bil, the company said. The round is the biggest this year in China’s autonomous driving industry, it said.
Neolix will use the funds to expand its operations and add customers for its vans, which are used by parcel delivery firms, eCommerce operators and small businesses. The company is the biggest provider of such vehicles outside of China, including in markets such as the Middle East, Europe, and Australia.
The Beijing-based company has more than 30,000 vehicles operating in more than 300 cities across 20 countries, making it the world’s largest autonomous fleet.
Neolix, whose vehicles have totted up 260 million autonomous kilometres, began night-time deliveries in cities this year.
It expects its domestic fleet to grow to 50,000 vehicles this year and, in 2027, the firm wants to add a further 100,000, founder Enyuan Yu said. — Bloomberg
