Baidu Led Recent NextEV Funding Round
The China-based tech giant Baidu led the most recent NextEV funding round, with an undisclosed figure, according to recent reports.
The overall funding round was valued at around $600 million, according to some sources, so Baidu’s investment was likely very substantial.
The news is particularly interesting when considering how different NextEV’s approach to entering the electric vehicle industry has been to the approach of Faraday Future — which is also being funded primarily by Chinese investors.
As is the case with Google/Alphabet, Baidu’s primary revenue sources stem from its search engine and online advertisement businesses. For similar reasons (weak outlook for further growth, tighter regulations, growing competition, etc.), Baidu has been looking to gain market share in new sectors.
Here’s more from Reuters coverage of the news: “China has splashed out billions of dollars in subsidies to promote greener cars, creating a gold-rush among unknown start-ups, but is now tightening its grip on the world’s biggest electric vehicle market to weed out weaker domestic firms. The investment is the first for Baidu Capital, a 20 billion yuan ($3 billion) investment fund Baidu set up late last year to focus on mid- and late-stage deals in the internet sector. NextEV already has the backing of tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd and Hillhouse Capital, and had targeted to have raised 20 billion yuan in China and overseas by the end of last year.”
Overall, I’d say that NextEV’s long-term outlook seems pretty good — though, of course, who knows this early in its history. For more information on the company, see:
NIO (NextEV) Aims To Sell Self-Driving EVs In USA By 2020
NextEV Supercar Does COTA Lap Autonomously (2 Minutes & 40.33 Seconds)
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