Autonomous driving startup Momenta raises another $500M – TechCrunch

Within the wake of a $300 million funding from Basic Motors in September, Momenta, an autonomous driving resolution supplier from China, introduced in the present day a further $500 million added to its Collection C spherical.

The brand new injection brings the overall of the startup’s Collection C to over $1 billion. Momenta adapts what it calls a two-legged technique of supplying superior driver help techniques (ADAS) to auto OEMs like GM and Tier 1 suppliers like Bosch, whereas conducting R&D on really unmanned autos, that’s, Stage 4 driving.

The startup has assembled a listing of heavyweight strategic buyers, together with China’s state-owned SAIC Motor, GM, Toyota, Mercedes Benz, and Bosch. Singapore’s sovereign fund Temasek and Jack Ma’s Yunfeng Capital are amongst its institutional buyers.

Momenta typically speaks of how its alliance with automobile producers differentiates itself from its friends, which have chosen a extra cash-intensive route of creating in-house robotaxi fleets. As an alternative, it counts on gleaning knowledge from a community of mass-produced autos powered by its options. Pony.ai and WeRide are amongst its closest rivals and have additionally raised a big quantity of capital.

Within the case of the GM deal, Momenta’s resolution, which makes use of a mixture of consumer-grade millimeter-wave radars and high-definition cameras, can be utilized in GM’s autos bought in China quite than the USA. The startup just lately opened its first abroad workplace in Stuttgart to be nearer to its German companions, which can suggest the footprint of its know-how may prolong past its house market.