NIO Capital Updates

 

▌NIO Capital Successfully Holds Annual General Meeting 2024

 

NIO Capital successfully held its 2024 Annual General Meeting in Beijing from April 25th to 26th, 2024. The conference covered various trendy sectors such as energy, future transportation, and globalization. A diverse group of global investors, entrepreneurs, and industry experts explored industry trends and shared fresh insights.

 

 

▌NIO Capital Releases 2023 Sustainability Report

 

This is a continuous effort after we released our inaugural ESG Report 2022 on World Earth Day last year. The Report elaborates on NIO Capital's sustainable strategy and management system, and quantifies the contributions of portfolio companies and funds to environmental protection. Read the full report here.

 

Portfolio Updates

 

NIO Capital’s Portfolio Companies Shine at Beijing Auto Show 2024

 

▌BIBO

Intelligent chassis solution provider BIBO presents its full series of chassis-by-wire products, including smart brake, smart steering, and domain controller, at the Beijing Auto Show 2024. 

 

▌Autolink

The Snapdragon Ride Flex (SA8775P) cockpit-to-drive fusion platform made its global debut at the Beijing Auto Show 2024. The platform was jointly developed by Autolink, a provider of smart cockpit software and hardware, Neta Auto and Qualcomm; the intelligent cockpit jointly built by Autolink and Chinese automaker SAIC Group attracted wide attention at SAIC Group’s pavilion; based on Qualcomm’s QC8295 automotive development platform, the intelligent cockpit demo co-developed by Autolink and Bosch was displayed at Bosch’s pavilion.

 

▌INGIN

Automotive component provider INGIN showcased its fourth-generation smart latch Intelli-ensafecare at the Beijing Auto Show 2024. 

 

 

▌Ambilight

Smart glass provider Ambilight presented the world’s first high-magnification black electrochromic (EC) dimming complete vehicle glass at the Beijing Auto Show 2024. 

 

▌Black Sesame Technologies

Black Sesame Technologies, a leader of intelligent vehicle computing chips, exhibited its mass-produced product ecosystem based on the high-performing, automotive grade Huashan series A1000 autonomous driving chips, as well as its Wudang series C1200 family cross-domain computing chips for intelligent vehicles and its mature development toolchains, at the Beijing Auto Show 2024. 

 

▌Seyond

Seyond, a leading provider of high-performing LiDAR sensors and solutions, launched two products at the Beijing Auto Show 2024, namely the third-generation image-grade ultra-long-range LiDAR Falcon K3 and the ultra-wide field of view LiDAR Robin D. The two products align with the mainstream tech trends of 1550nm and 905nm LiDARs in the market. 

 

▌Pony.ai

Autonomous driving technology company Pony.ai and Toyota showcased their co-developed Platinum 4X Robotaxi concept car at the Beijing Auto Show, revealing the automotive grade exterior design and product philosophy of the concept vehicle. The car is planned to be equipped with Pony.ai’s seventh-generation self-driving passenger car system solution, with the goal of commercializing driverless products and equipping the technology with the high stability and reliability needed to roll out robotaxi services across urban areas. 

 

Financing Updates

▌Shi Ji Yun An Completes Series A+ Funding

Shi Ji Yun An, a leading EV charging solutions provider and operator in China, raised hundreds of millions of yuan in its series A+ funding to support its R&D iteration and market expansion. The company has partnered with more than 300 property management companies and over 20 OEMs, signed cooperation contracts with more than 32% of China’s top 100 property companies, and cemented its business footprints in more than 300 cities across 31 provinces in China. 

 

 

▌CIX Technology Finishes Series A+ Funding

ARM-based smart CPU developer CIX Technology raised hundreds of millions of yuan in its series A+ funding. The raised fund will be used to support its continuing research and real-world application of its products. The company will continue its innovative R&D on smart CPUs for AI PCs and create smart general CPUs with high energy efficiency to meet the market needs, which will accelerate the commercialization of AI PC chips. 

 

Business Updates

▌Inceptio Technology Delivers Another Batch of Intelligent Heavy-Duty Trucks

Inceptio Technology, China’s leading developer of autonomous driving technologies for heavy-duty trucks, delivered a new batch of vehicles equipped with Inceptio’s Xuanyuan intelligent driving system to YTO Express, a leading logistics firm in China. These trucks will serve YTO Express’ distribution centers in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Jieyang, and Yiwu and run on the major routes in eastern and central China, which signals an accelerated deployment of intelligent driving heavy-duty trucks in the field of express delivery.

 

▌Momenta Announces New Autonomous Driving Solution Powered by NVIDIA DRIVE Orin

Momenta, a leading autonomous driving technology company, announced an advanced autonomous driving (AD) solution based on the NVIDIA DRIVE Orin system-on-a-chip (SoC). The solution encompasses all advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) functions, supports advanced AD features such as Highway Navigation Pilot (HNP), Urban Navigation Pilot (UNP), Learned Parking Navigation Pilot (LPNP), and Parking Navigation Pilot (PNP).

 

▌TrunkTech Pilots Autonomous Driving of Intelligent Connected Trucks on 

TrunkTech, a L4 autonomous driving technology and service provider, became the first in China to legally pilot autonomous driving truck and truck fleet throughout the Beijing-Tianjin-Tanggu Highway, after the Langfang section (in Heibei province) of the Beijing-Shanghai Expressway, which overlaps with the Hebei section of the Beijing-Tianjin-Tanggu Highway, was officially open for road testing and demonstrative applications of intelligent connected vehicles. It is the first highway section to open for the testing of internet-connected vehicles in North China’s Hebei Province. 

 

▌CIX Technology Sees Successful Bring-up of Its First Chip

ARM-based smart CPU developer CIX Technology had a successful bring-up for its first chip. Since its incorporation in 2021, CIX Technology has gradually developed the “1+2+3+3” development strategy, which is to prioritize one product series, embrace the two ecosystems of China and the world, strengthen the three core technologies of CPU+GPU+AI, and empower the three computing platforms of personal, vehicle, and metaverse computing. 

 

▌Sunman Energy Helps Yunnan Industrial Park and Harbin West Railway Station Go Green

Solar panel manufacturer Sunman Energy helps Yunnan Industrial Park adopt the mode of “self-generation & self-consumption with excess energy sold to the power grid.” The industrial park is expected to sell back an average of 29.19 million kWh to the power grid per year, with an average full-load hours of 1214.52 hours per year.

Sunman Energy’s eArc light-weight solar modules perfectly meet the high waterproof requirements of the distributed, light-weight rooftop aluminum decor panels of Harbin West Railway Station. Thanks to the quick-bonding installation method, the mounting-free eArc solar modules can be easily installed on the rooftop without penetrating the roof surface, reducing both the installation costs and duration.

 

 

▌AlphaESS Empowers Distributed Energy Storage Project

The 400kW/860kWh distributed solar energy storage project built by solar energy storage solution and service provider AlphaESS for Nantong Mingyi Glass Technology in East China’s Jiangsu Province was fully connected to the power grid and put into operation. The project is the first integrated distributed energy storage in Jiangsu Province, which indicates that the local small and medium-sized enterprises are starting to choose a new model of distributed energy storage.  

 

▌PCG Power Facilitates Geely’s Green Efforts

The 21MW distributed photovoltaic project built by comprehensive energy management service provider PCG Power for Guizhou Geely Automobile Manufacturing Co., Ltd. was successfully connected to the power grid. PCG Power and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group will leverage the latter’s scale and system to optimize regional energy mix, provide stable green power to enterprises, and create demonstrative clean energy projects in the automobile industry chain. 

 

▌Aulton New Energy Contributes to Standards on EV Charging and Battery Swap 

Battery swapping solution provider Aulton New Energy served as a drafting member and core team member on multiple standards, including General Requirements for Equipment to Swap Battery Pack of Electric Vehicle and Technical Requirements for Vehicle Information Identification at Battery Swapping Station, at the second session of the third Technical Committee for Standardization of EV Charging Facilities in Energy Industry.

 

Cooperations & Partnerships

▌ClearMotion Signs Cooperation Agreement with Porsche 

ClearMotion, the Boston-based specialist in the development of innovative chassis systems, and German automobile manufacturer Porsche AG signed an agreement to collaborate in the field of advanced chassis systems to further enhance the agile and dynamic chassis in Porsche models. Under this agreement, Porsche and ClearMotion will collaborate on ClearMotion1, a high-bandwidth active suspension technology, and RoadMotion, a road surface fingerprinting software for proactive chassis control. In addition, Porsche and ClearMotion signed a license agreement.

 

▌Eacon and Tonly Launch Two New Energy Driverless Mining Vehicles

Autonomous haulage solutions provider Eacon and mining dump truck manufacturer Shaanxi Tonly Heavy industries Co., Ltd. unveiled two new energy driverless mining vehicles, the ET100 and ET70M, at their joint product launch event. 

 

 

▌Pony.ai, Toyota China, and GAC Toyota Establish JV to Promote L4 Robotaxi

Autonomous driving technology company Pony.ai joined hands with Toyota China and GAC Toyota to establish a joint venture company, Zhuifeng Intelligent Tech (Guangzhou) Co. With a combined investment exceeding RMB 1 billion, the three parties will leverage the joint venture for the research and production of their first car model, the Platinum 4X Robotaxi, and steadily promote the commercialization of fully driverless vehicles. 

 

▌Momenta Partners with Autonomous Driving Firms

Momenta, a leading autonomous driving technology company, and RoboSense, a provider of LiDAR and perception system, have agreed to carry out comprehensive and in-depth cooperation that focuses on advanced driver assistance and driverless mobility. The two companies will explore the most innovative autonomous driving solutions and scale up their application across more areas. 

Momenta and HESAI Technology, a global leader in LiDAR sensor solutions, will further the deployment of intelligent driving systems on more mass-produced vehicles and expand the application of fully driverless technologies.

Momenta and Qualcomm announced a range of scalable automotive products based on new intelligent driving solutions for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving (AD). The solutions are likely to be deployed on mass-produced vehicles later this year.

 

▌Tuhu Automotive Service and ExxonMobil China Advance Strategic Cooperation

Integrated automotive service provider Tuhu Automotive Service and oil & gas conglomerate ExxonMobil China launched multiple high-end motor oil products and released details of their cooperation on intelligent supply chain at a press release in Shanghai. 

 

▌AlphaESS and Hopewind Enter Global Strategic Cooperation Agreement

Solar energy storage solution and service provider AlphaESS and green power solutions provider Hopewind signed a global strategic cooperation agreement to integrate their resources and expand their partnership to a wider range, including technologies, products, quality, services, and overseas markets. The two companies used to collaborate in multiple solar energy storage projects in Northwest China. 

 

 

▌Aulton New Energy and Huayou Recycling Cooperate on Full Life Cycle Battery Service 

Battery swapping solution provider Aulton New Energy and battery recycler Huayou Recycling have entered strategic cooperation that centers on battery services throughout the battery life cycle. The two companies will make use of their respective resources and advantages to carry out all-around and multi-level cooperation in diversified fields, including asset management for batteries of officially registered taxis and ride-hailing taxis, integrated battery swapping and storage ecosystem, aftersales services for power batteries, and recycling and reuse of retired batteries.

 

Honors & Awards

▌NIO Capital’s Portfolio Companies Honored by Cleantech Awards

PCG Power, Newrizon, and Ruilong Tech were listed in the APAC Cleantech 25, an annual list of private sustainable innovation companies that have caught the attention of market experts. Earlier this year, Sunman Energy was recognized as one of the Global Cleantech 100. In addition, AlphaESS was honored as one of the APAC Cleantech 25 back in 2019. 

 

 

 

▌NIO Capital’s Portfolio Companies on Global Unicorn Index 2024

Five of NIO Capital’s portfolio companies, i.e., Aulton New Energy, Black Sesame Technologies, Pony.ai, Inceptio Technology, and Rongtong High Tech, are on the Global Unicorn Index 2024 compiled by Hurun Research Institute. An authoritative organization recording changes in China’s entrepreneurial community and industries, the institute has been tracking and recording global unicorn companies since 2019, aiming to find the most successful startups in the world. 

 

▌Inceptio Technology Recognized by Local Governments in China

Inceptio Technology, a developer of autonomous driving technologies for heavy-duty trucks, has participated in the pilot project on autonomous driving in urban mobility and logistics services in Deqing City of East China’s Zhejiang Province. Recommended by the Department of Transport of Zhejiang Province, the project was selected in the second batch of national pilot programs on intelligent transportation by China’s Ministry of Transport. 

Inceptio Technology made it onto the 2024 list of key unicorn enterprises in Shanghai, just one year after it claimed the title in 2023. Inceptio Technology’s Xuanyuan intelligent driving system has empowered intelligent heavy-weight trucks to safely operate for more than 98 million kilometers, and its navigate-on-autopilot (NOA) system for trucks has covered the trunk highways across the country. 

 

▌Black Sesame Technologies Obtains ISO/SAE 21434:2021 Certification

Black Sesame Technologies obtained the ISO/SAE 21434:2021 Certification on Road Vehicles Cybersecurity Engineering. It shows that the company has established a development process for cybersecurity products that aligns with the ISO/SAE 21434 requirements, and it possesses competence in cybersecurity risk management, laying a solid foundation to safeguard the cybersecurity of both the company and its products. 

 

▌CALB Receives Awards at Home and Abroad

Comprehensive energy operation system provider CALB was the only company in the power and storage battery industry to be honored as one of the 2023 Benchmarking Enterprises for High Quality Development in Jiangsu Province; moreover, CALB Chairman Liu Jingyu was among the 2023 Top 10 Economic Newsmakers in Jiangsu.

CALB was named by French battery system manufacturer Forsee Power as its 2023 Strategic Supplier of Choice. Forsee Power has a wide and premium client base in the European and global commercial electromobility markets. Moreover, CALB was honored as the 2023 Outstanding Supplier with Best Overall Performance by the Indian automotive OEM Mahindra.

 

 

Global Expansion

▌AlphaESS Attends Industry Expo and Delivers First Batch of Products from Malaysia

AlphaESS, a solar energy storage solution and service provider, presented its Low-carbon Smart Industrial Park Platform 2.0, 20-feet 5MWh liquid cooling system, and the innovative service mode of integrated“platform + project”at the 12th Energy Storage International Conference and Expo (ESIE 2024) in Beijing. AlphaESS also showcased its full-power-range energy storage solutions for mini, residential, industrial and commercial, and large-scale application scenarios at its pavilion.

The first shipment of 192 units of 8.2kWh residential energy storage batteries SMILE-G3-8.2PHA was successfully delivered to Europe by AlphaESS’ Malaysian factory. The Malaysian plant is AlphaESS’ first overseas production base, which plans to realize a production capacity of 1GWh of residential energy storage products and components in the next five years. 

 

 

▌Sunman Energy Exhibits Lightweight Products at World Future Energy Summit 2024

Solar panel manufacturer Sunman Energy displayed its latest Dragonfly and Butterfly series of lightweight solar modules, as well as signature products such as the balcony solar panels, at the World Future Energy Summit 2024 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The 520W high-efficiency, glass-free, lightweight Dragonfly solar module features a pre-integrated mounting, which can save the installation time by 40%. Meanwhile, its new removable mechanical mounting also offers customers more flexible and reliable installation options.