Chinese ride-hailing service Xiangdao Chuxing announced on Monday that it has raised more than $150 million in Series B from investors, including self-driving car startup Momenta, and said it plans to prepare for a potential initial public offering.
The company said it raised $150 million in a funding round, with participation from SAIC, China’s biggest automaker and Volkswagen’s Chinese partner, self-driving car company Momenta, and private equity firm Gaoxing Investment. Xiangdao is valued at $1 billion.
Xiangdao was founded by SAIC in Shanghai in 2018 and later raised RMB 300 million in Series A from external investors, including Alibaba and battery giant CATL in December 2020.
Xiangdao plans to use the proceeds in various ways, including expanding an autonomous taxi-hailing fleet co-operated with Momenta.
The companies began offering robotaxi services with 40 self-driving cars in limited areas in Shanghai and the nearby city of Suzhou in late 2021 and plan to expand the fleet to 200 vehicles by the end of the year.
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