Geely-backed ECARX aims to be Android for cars

On March 3rd, Geely-backed automotive intelligence developer ECARX was reportedly in pursuit of a SPAC listing in the US, marking the company’s second attempt to be publicly traded.

Photo credit: ECARX

ECARX plans to merge with a blank-check company for the IPO, which will bring its valuation up to around $4 billion. The company is considering talking to relevant supervision departments to get its deal approved, a source close to the matter disclosed.

Founded in 2016, ECARX is a joint product of Li Shufu, founder and chairman of Geely, and Shen Ziyu, the then assistant dean of Geely Automotive Research Institute. As an independent automotive intelligence tech startup backed by Geely’s money, ECARX has a strong background. The company’s vision is to be the Android of cars.

Since its establishment, ECARX has been working on developing a comprehensive next-generation chip product matrix, intelligent cockpits, intelligent driving solutions, high-precision maps, big data technologies, and a V2X cloud platform for intelligent connected vehicles. The company has formed partnerships with giants in the said fields to advance the technologies. 

Chip-wise, ECARX and ARM China set up a joint venture, SiEngine Technology, which introduced its self-developed 7nm auto-grade SoC, the DragonHawk One, in December 2021. The chip will be mounted on a Geely vehicle in 2022. Moreover, according to Shen Ziyu, solutions based on the chip will start mass production in the second quarter of 2023. By 2024, four production models powered by the DragonHawk One will make their debut by four automakers on the European market.

Photo credit: SiEngine

Automotive intelligence-wise, ECARX successively formed a cooperation with ICT giant HUAWEI, and world-class suppliers, Visteon and Qualcomm for next-generation smart cockpit solutions. The company also inked a deal with Baidu’s autonomous driving arm, Apollo, to co-develop onboard OS, AI brain, intelligent speech, and onboard maps.

Additionally, ECARX established a joint venture with Volvo Cars in Gothenburg, Sweden, to develop a smartphone-like onboard operating system.

The company’s determination in R&D is set in stone. By 2021, ECARX has poured over RMB4 billion into R&D alone and set up branches and R&D centers in Hangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Dalian, Suzhou, Chengdu, Kuala Lumpur, London, and Gothenburg, housing an R&D team of over a thousand members.

Photo credit: ECARX

The resolution in R&D and its forward-thinking market intuition has attracted the capital market. In October 2020, the company closed its Series A financing round, raising RMB1.3 billion. The round was led by Baidu and followed by SIG.

On February 25th 2021, ECARX received another $2 billion in its A+ financing round, led by China State-Owned Capital Venture Investment Fund. The round brought the company’s then valuation to over $2 billion.

Finally, on September 7th 2021, Geely announced that it had led ECARX’s Series B financing round of $50 million.

Notably, this was not the first IPO rumor circling ECARX. Back in March 2021, there were talks about a possible IPO move from ECARX in Hong Kong. The company was reportedly already in touch with several investment banks, including Morgan Stanley and UBS. According to the then report, ECARX planned to raise at least $600 million through the IPO.