China’s Betone, a developer of manufacturing equipment used in chip production, and Legend Energy, which offers artificial intelligence (AI)-based smart energy storage solutions, have become the latest startups to raise capital.
Betone raises nearly $71m to develop new products
Betone Technology Shanghai Inc, a Chinese developer of manufacturing equipment used in semiconductor production, has secured almost 500 million yuan ($70.5 million) in a new funding round.
Founded in 2008, Shanghai-headquartered Betone will invest the proceeds for talent recruitment and R&D to introduce more domestically-made thin film deposition equipment, the firm said in a Thursday post on its official WeChat account.
Thin film deposition is a manufacturing step in which thin film coatings are produced and deposited onto a substrate. It is integral to the production of many solid-state products including semiconductors, consumer electronics, LED displays, and medical devices.
A range of domestic investors in China participated in its new round, including Juntong Capital, Shanghai STVC Group, SAIF Partners China, and SANYUAN Capital.
Existing shareholders such as Leaguer Capital and Grand Yangtze Capital doubled down on their shareholding positions, according to the post.
Ant Group picks up stake in smart energy storage startup
Ant Group has invested in China’s Legend Energy, a developer of artificial intelligence (AI)-based smart energy storage solutions, to help industrial and commercial enterprises go smarter and greener.
The new funding will allow the startup to invest in the deployment of its virtual power plant network across key cities in China, it announced in a statement.
Legend Energy started in 2015 to provide clients with integrated smart energy solutions powered by software and hardware.
In the years that followed, it branched into developing energy solutions for intelligent connected vehicles (ICVs), including AI algorithms for EV energy storage systems targeting lithium-ion batteries. Its partners include ride-hailing firm Didi Global, China FAW Group, and BAIC Motor Corp, according to the firm’s website.
Legend Energy, which entered the European market in 2022, currently offers battery management services covering 10GWh of energy assets in the market.
Prior to the new financing, the startup completed three funding rounds last year with the support of investors including Joy Capital, Fresh Capital, and Nasdaq-listed electric vehicle (EV) charging service firm NaaS Technology, among others. It claimed to have raised “hundreds of millions of yuan” in total from the earlier transactions.