New Funding Pushes Chinese Self-Driving Startup Momenta’s Valuation to $1Bn

Beijing-based self-driving startup Momenta has closed its latest funding round to boost its total funding to over US$200 million. The company bills itself as China’s most valuable autonomous driving startup, with an estimated worth of US$1 billion. Tencent is one of the main investors behind this funding round, joined by China Merchants Capital, Shanghai Guoxin Investment, Yuanhe Capital, and CCB International.

Momenta Founder and CEO Xudong Cao says the funding will be used to further promote the implementation of Momenta’s autonomous driving technology. “Momenta will work with partners in factory-installed and aftermarket-installed products, traveling, logistics, big data and other fields.”

Founded in September 2016 by a team of young Chinese computer vision experts, Momenta applies deep learning algorithms in perception, HD semantic mapping, and data-driven path planning to enable the realization of fully autonomous vehicles.

The company says they have developed algorithms that can detect driving behaviors, pedestrians, road conditions, and various types of vehicles with high precision and robust performance. Its autonomous driving solutions can now handle multiple scenarios, including highway driving, valet parking, and driving in urban areas. This April, Momenta announced plans to deploy a new fleet of self-driving testing vehicles in Suzhou, a major city in southeastern China.

Momenta nabbed a US$46 million series B round last year led by NIO Capital, a private equity fund established by Chinese electric car company NIO. Also participating in that round were Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler AG, Shunwei Capital, Sinovation Ventures and Unity Ventures.

Journalist: Tony Peng | Editor: Michael Sarazen