Photo: YouTube Screenshot/Baidu Inc
Chinese tech giant Baidu and car manufacturer Geely have set aside about $400 million toward their joint electric car venture Jidu. The companies partnered a year ago to develop their first EV. According to Jidu, the fund will go into research and development and mass production.
After more than a decade of Tesla dominance, more and more start-ups are mushrooming into the EV market. The world is embracing renewable energy, and BEVs are taking center stage for the future of mobility.
Baidu and Geely announced on Wednesday that they are pumping in nearly $400 million into Jidu, in what they called Series A financing. This financial injection comes less than a year after Jidu came into the limelight with $300 million initial capital from undisclosed investors, CNBC reported.
Baidu currently enjoys a larger share of the pie at 55%, while Geely owns the remaining 45% stake. Neither company disclosed how much each injected in their latest funding round.
Over the last two years, the EV market has experienced exponential growth, and more and more companies are rushing to develop BEVs that will soon replace ICEs.
China’s tech giants are also rising to the occasion, each reaching out for a piece of that EV industry cake. Huawei, Xiaomi, Didi, have all announced plans to venture into the recently lucrative mobility market.
The Chinese government is equally supportive of start-ups looking to impact the domestic industry’s growth.
In 2021, EV deals in China tripled to $6.61 billion from $2.17 billion in 2020. Meanwhile, in the U.S., deals more than doubled to $924 million last year from $353 million in 2020.
Last year, Baidu announced its plans to launch Jidu alongside Geely and named co-founder of Mobike (bike-sharing start-up) Xia Yiping as CEO of the newly formed electric vehicle company.
China-based Geely acquired Swedish auto manufacturer Volvo in 2010, which initially belonged to Ford. It also runs other EV brands, including Zeekr and Polestar.
Baidu and Geely announced on Wednesday that they are pumping in nearly $400 million into Jidu, in what they called Series A financing. This financial injection comes less than a year after Jidu came into the limelight with $300 million initial capital from undisclosed investors, CNBC reported.
Baidu currently enjoys a larger share of the pie at 55%, while Geely owns the remaining 45% stake. Neither company disclosed how much each injected in their latest funding round.
Over the last two years, the EV market has experienced exponential growth, and more and more companies are rushing to develop BEVs that will soon replace ICEs.
China’s tech giants are also rising to the occasion, each reaching out for a piece of that EV industry cake. Huawei, Xiaomi, Didi, have all announced plans to venture into the recently lucrative mobility market.
The Chinese government is equally supportive of start-ups looking to impact the domestic industry’s growth.
In 2021, EV deals in China tripled to $6.61 billion from $2.17 billion in 2020. Meanwhile, in the U.S., deals more than doubled to $924 million last year from $353 million in 2020.
Last year, Baidu announced its plans to launch Jidu alongside Geely and named co-founder of Mobike (bike-sharing start-up) Xia Yiping as CEO of the newly formed electric vehicle company.
China-based Geely acquired Swedish auto manufacturer Volvo in 2010, which initially belonged to Ford. It also runs other EV brands, including Zeekr and Polestar.
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