Autonomous driving startup Momenta raises another $500M – TechCrunch

Within the wake of a $300 million investment from Common Motors in September, Momenta, an autonomous driving resolution supplier from China, introduced right this moment a further $500 million added to its Sequence C spherical.

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

The startup has assembled a listing of heavyweight strategic traders, 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 traders.

Momenta usually speaks of how its alliance with automobile producers differentiates itself from its friends, which have chosen a extra cash-intensive route of growing in-house robotaxi fleets. As a substitute, it counts on gleaning data from a network 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, will likely be utilized in GM’s autos bought in China rather than the United States. 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 expertise may lengthen past its house market.