Nio Capital, the investment fund co-founded by Nio‘s founder and CEO William Li, has invested in a Chinese startup focused on designing autonomous driving chips.
Xinxin Hangtu Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of autonomous driving firm Momenta, has added new investors including Shenzhen Chuangxin Capital Investment Co., Ltd. and Hefei Nio Industrial Development Equity Investment Partnership, under Nio Capital.
Momenta — which announced last month a partnership with the BMW Group — quietly set up Xinxin Hangtu at the end of 2023 under the leadership of Li Jun, who joined the company in 2016 as a research engineer.
The Suzhou-based startup has also increased its registered capital from about 12.27 million yuan to 14.99 million yuan, according to corporate data platform Tianyancha.
Its business scope covers software development, integrated circuit chip design and services, and technology promotion.
Shareholder information shows that it is now jointly held by Suzhou Cape of Good Hope Xinxin Enterprise Management Partnership, Suzhou Huanxiuhu Xincheng Industrial Investment Development Partnership, and the newly added investors.
As of Thursday, only Momenta and not Xinxin Hangtu appear on the portfolio list of Nio Capital’s official website. The investment from the fund was first reported by China’s outlet Jiemian News.
William Li, founder and chief executive of Nio, serves as managing partner of the investment fund.
Between 2016 and early 2024, Nio Capital has raised five funds — three in US dollars and two in RMB — with total assets under management of about 15 billion yuan.
In early 2024, it completed the second phase of its RMB fundraising, raising more than 3 billion yuan ($420 million at the time).
Although local media outlet 36kr describes Nio Capital as an independent investment fund with a market-based decision-making mechanism, its ties to Nio remain close.
Many of its portfolio companies double as suppliers to the Shanghai-headquartered EV maker.
The fund holds stakes in CATL and CALB, both battery suppliers to Nio.
US startup ClearMotion, another portfolio company, provides the active suspension system in the ET9 and is rumoured to supply it for the upcoming ES9 SUV, planned for next year.
ClearMotion said last December that it would supply its technology for up to 750,000 ET9s over the model’s lifetime.
Several other Nio Capital-backed companies supply components for the Onvo L90, the mass-market model launched under Nio’s sub-brand in July.
These include Sinpro (4D imaging radar), Hiway (digital cockpit), Evtech (powertrain systems), Ingin (smart access solutions), and AEW (seat heating and belt reminder systems).
This is not the first autonomous driving-focused company in Nio Capital’s portfolio.
The fund is also invested in Momenta itself, US-listed robotaxi developer Pony.ai, autonomous truck operator Inceptio, TrunkTech, and LiDAR maker Seyond, among others.
TrunkTech, which develops level 4 autonomous trucks, has recently deployed electrified container vehicles at Guangzhou Port to enhance smart logistics efficiency.
Seyond, formerly known as Innovusion, is Nio’s LiDAR supplier and counts the EV maker as its main client.
In May, Seyond said it would exclusively provide its Robin E1X LiDAR products to a leading Chinese automaker’s multiple brands from 2026, expecting sales in the hundreds of thousands over three years.
Last month, BMW announced a tie-up with Momenta to develop advanced driver-assistance technology for China. The system, designed for both highways and urban roads, will be installed in multiple BMW models within the world’s largest auto market.
Over the past year, several autonomous driving chips have been taped out, including Nvidia’s Thor-X, Thor-U, and Orin-Y; Qualcomm’s 8797 and 8397; Horizon’s J6P and J6M; Black Sesame Technologies’ A2000 and C1236; RHINO Guangzhi’s R1; XPeng’s “Turing”; and Nio’s own Shenji NX9031.
Nio unveiled the Shenji NX9031 in December 2023, which is currently used in the flagship ET9 executive sedan.
