By WU Yangyu
Founded in Silicon Valley in 2016, autonomous truck developer Plus.ai is to transfer its entire Chinese team to Full Truck Alliance (FTA) in the very near future.
According to previous reports, as of the end of 2022, Plus.ai's Chinese and American teams each had around 200 members.
Moving on down the road
Earlier this year, after putting its SPAC listing plans on hold, Plus began to look for a new home for its Chinese team and Full Truck Alliance seemed most suitable.
FTA participated in Plus's A, D, and D+ financing rounds. The logistics company already has a lively synergy, with Plus providing FTA with autonomous driving solutions and FTA collecting a large amount of road test data for Plus.
This transaction also involves Suzhou Zhito Technology, established in 2019 as a JV by FAW Group and Plus. FAW holds 25.7 percent of Zhito, Plus holds 16 percent which will now transfer to FTA.
Brief affair
In May 2021, Plus announced that it had signed a formal merger agreement with Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) Hennessy Capital. The post-merger company's valuation would be approximately US$3.3 billion, with about US$500 million in new financing.
In November of that year, Plus announced the termination of the agreement.
At that time, Chinese technology companies faced considerable difficulties in listing in the US. Tech companies with Chinese equity participation, research and development institutions in China, or targeting the Chinese market, were subject to review.
Change of sentiment
However, in February, lidar company Hesai debuted on the Nasdaq, rising over 10 percent on its first day. In March, companies like Pony, Momenta and others were reported to be planning overseas IPOs.
Given the current state of the industry, the driving force for autonomous driving companies to go public still comes from the scarcity of primary market financing. Going public means increased liquidity and a larger scale, allowing more short-term operations.
