Chinese self-driving startup nets $154m in investment from state-backed fund

Uisee, a Chinese autonomous driving startup, announced that it has secured over 1 billion yuan (US$154.3 million) in new investment from the state-backed National Manufacturing Transformation and Upgrade fund.

The fund was set up in 2019 with a registered capital of 147.2 billion yuan (US$22.7 billion) and manages 50.1 billion yuan (US$7.7 billion) in total capital. According to a statement, Uisee is the first autonomous driving company that has received investment from the fund.

Photo credit: Uisee

Founded in 2016, Uisee is developing its Level 4 self-driving technology, and its services have been applied to airports, public transportation, robotaxis, and industrial parks.

With the new fund, the company will further develop its autonomous driving technology and accelerate its monetization.

Autonomous driving makes use of industrial internet, artificial intelligence, big data, and 5G, and its development will help in the transformation and upgrading of the auto industry, said the statement, citing a representative from the fund.

Uisee has formed partnerships with enterprises such as CMA Logistics, Faw Logistics, BASF, and Dongfeng Motor Corporation.

It is backed by a string of investors that include China International Capital Corporation, ZhenFund, and Kai-Fu Lee’s Sinovation Ventures, among others.

According to a report, the total private equity investment in the autonomous driving industry was 594 billion yuan (US$91.6 billion) in 2019.

Uisee goes up against rivals such as WeRide, which just raised a total of US$310 million in its series B round, as well as Pony.ai, which is valued at over US$5.3 billion. Last year, ride-hailer Didi Chuxing closed US$500 million in a round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 for its autonomous driving subsidiary.

Currency converted from Chinese yuan to US dollar: US$1 = 6.48 yuan.