CalmCar, a Chinese startup self-driving technology provider, announced on July 22 that it closed a Series C round of funding of approximately $150 million and plans to launch an IPO in 2022.
The funds raised will be used to expand hardware and software capacity for L2-L4 high and low-speed autonomous driving systems, with the goal of mass production in vehicles by 2022, the company said.
German automotive parts maker ZF Group, a key backer of CalmCar, led the round, with other investors including VinFast and Unicom Capital.
Last month, ZF and CalmCar signed a strategic partnership agreement to jointly develop Auto Parking Assist (APA) and Automated Valet Parking (AVP) systems.
ZF can now provide solutions ranging from sensory fusion to planning and control execution algorithms that can meet different needs of customers from L2, L2+ to L3 mass production.
During Shanghai Auto Show in April, ZF unveiled its first AVP system, which was developed in collaboration with CalmCar.
This AVP system is equipped with four surround-view 192° fisheye cameras, seamlessly connected with ultrasonic radar sensing through 360° surround-view sensing developed by CalmCar.
It can effectively identify parking spaces and obstacles, can help locate the vehicle indoors and outdoors, and plan the automatic parking path in real-time.
It enables driverless parking without relying on parking infrastructure, just like Xpeng Motors' memory parking feature.
In addition, CalmCar has partnered with a number of Chinese companies on a range of smart driving products including surround perception, autonomous driving, autonomous parking, and driving recorder.
Some of SAIC's models equipped with CalmCar's parking system are expected to reach mass production status this year.
Founded in 2016, CalmCar's main products include visual perception, driver behavior analysis, parking and DSSAD systems, serving OEMs and Tier1 L2+ to L4 smart driving mass production platforms.
(Photo source: CalmCar)
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