Autonomous driving startup Momenta raises one other $500M – TechCrunch

Within the wake of a $300 million funding from Normal Motors in September, Momenta, an autonomous driving answer supplier from China, introduced at this time a further $500 million added to its Sequence C spherical.

The brand new injection brings the full of the startup’s Sequence 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 actually unmanned automobiles, that’s, Stage 4 driving.

The startup has assembled an inventory 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 typically speaks of how its alliance with automotive 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 information from a community of mass-produced automobiles powered by its options. Pony.ai and WeRide are amongst its closest rivals and have additionally raised a major quantity of capital.

Within the case of the GM deal, Momenta’s answer, which makes use of a mixture of consumer-grade millimeter-wave radars and high-definition cameras, will likely be utilized in GM’s automobiles bought in China reasonably than america. The startup not too long ago opened its first abroad workplace in Stuttgart to be nearer to its German companions, which can suggest the footprint of its expertise might prolong past its dwelling market.