(JW Insights) May 9 -- Mogo Auto(蘑菇车联), a Chinese company offering autonomous driving technology and operation services, has successfully raised RMB580 million ($83 million) in C2 round financing, reported Pandaily on May 6.

The investors involved in this funding round include Chengdu Science and Technology Investment Group, Zhuhai Haidou Science and Technology Investment Group, Tencent, as well as auto finance firm Yixin Group. This significant amount of funding is noteworthy given the current downturn in financing for the autonomous driving industry in China, said the Pandaily report.

Based on incomplete statistics, China’s autonomous driving industry received 124 investments in 2021, totaling over RMB76 billion ($10.97 billion) in disclosed financing. However, in 2022, although the number of financing rounds remained almost the same, the funds amount dropped significantly to only RMB20.5 billion ($2.96 billion). This suggests that the autonomous driving industry is experiencing a shift towards more rational development and away from speculative bubbles.

Beijing-based Mogo Auto, established in 2017, has independently developed a Level 4 autonomous driving system. The company has launched a standardized product package for autonomous driving services and received orders from various industries, including digital transportation, intelligent connected vehicles, and vehicle-road coordination.

Mogo Auto reports that its solution has been adopted in over ten provinces and cities, with contracts value totaling more than RMB11 billion ($1.59 billion). However, Mogo Auto’s approach has been met with controversy due to its reliance on government investment during the early stages of development, making it vulnerable to policy changes, said the Pandaily report.

(Li PP)