Autonomous driving startup WeRide has announced fresh investments from artificial intelligence (AI) unicorn SenseTime and a subsidiary of the Agricultural Bank of China, while Starquest Capital has led a 500 million-yuan ($72.77 million) Series C+ round of financing for Miaoshou Doctor.
SenseTime invests in WeRide
Level 4 autonomous driving startup WeRide (formerly known as JingChi) has announced raising “tens of millions of US dollars” in fresh funding from AI firm SenseTime and ABC International, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Agricultural Bank of China.
The latest investments are part of the startup’s Series A round that saw lead investor Alliance Ventures, the strategic venture capital arm of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, make a strategic investment in the Chinese company in October 2018.
“The investment and fundraising for autonomous driving is no longer made solely based on technology, but also the capability of commercialization. The cooperation with SenseTime Technology and ABC International reinforces WeRide’s leading role in L4 autonomous driving technology and business model in the market,” said WeRide CEO and co-founder Tony Han.
Founded in 2017 in Silicon Valley, WeRide plans to deploy a fleet of 500 autonomous vehicles in 2019 with an accumulated mileage of 5 million kilometres. The company said it is working on operation and commercialization trials with partners in Guangzhou, Anqing and other cities.
WeRide, which currently has more than 200 employees worldwide, is the first autonomous driving company in China to use 5G network for remote control of a driverless vehicle.
Other investors in the Series A round include existing backer Qiming Venture Capital, Hanfor Capital, Atop Capital, Johnson Electric, Xiaopeng He, Idinvest Partners and OceanIQ Capital.
Starquest leads Series C round for Miaoshou Doctor
Chinese private equity firm Starquest Capital has led a 500 million-yuan ($72.77 million) Series C+ round of financing for Miaoshou Doctor, a pharmaceutical e-commerce company, China Money Network reported.
Sequoia Capital China also participated in the funding round.
Founded in 2015, Miaoshou Doctor operates as a medical consultation services provider and online pharmaceutical marketplace. The company provides services through various channels including an online hospital, a mobile application, an online business-to-consumer (B2C) shopping website and an online platform for hospitals to share prescriptions.
Founded in 2017, Starquest Capital is a newly established investment firm sponsored by China National Venture Capital Fund and Sequoia Capital, focusing on private equity and fund of funds opportunities with an initial AUM of nearly 30 billion yuan.
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