Neolix, a firm from China that makes autonomous delivery vehicles, announced it raised approximately $400 million in a Series E round to fuel its growth and engage in more commercial activity around the world. The deal represents the biggest investment in China’s autonomous delivery industry this year, as investments become more concentrated among a few major players in the market.
The new funds will allow Neolix to boost its presence in the global market and enter additional markets worldwide. So far, the total amount of funds that the firm has received is greater than $1.4 billion, while the valuation of the company remains undisclosed. This investment of $400 million is in the 96th percentile of Series E rounds in the Chinese transportation industry in the last four years.
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Based on the dataset of 121 funding deals, the funding places the company near the top of the sector’s recent fundraising. In addition, Neolix began testing on public roads in Cyberjaya, Malaysia, under the Sandbox scheme after a similar project in Singapore. This deal is a win-win situation for Alibaba. Either its investment will give good returns, or it will use this homegrown delivery technology to make its own delivery process more automated and predictable. Alibaba’s logistics arm, Cainiao, also invested in another robovan company, Zelos, which Alibaba plans to merge with its own delivery operations. This deal is poised to value the combined business at around $2 billion.
