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Plus Raises $200 Million in New Funding to Advance Global Commercialization of Its Automated TrucksPlus (formerly Plus.ai), a leading provider of self-driving truck technology, announced it has completed a $200 million round of funding led by new investors Guotai Junan International, CPE, and Wanxiang International Investment. Existing investors including Full Truck Alliance (FTA) also participated. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210210005536/en/ Plus Automated Trucks (Photo: Business Wire) Plus plans to use the new funds to accelerate the global commercialization and deployment of its automated trucking system. As the company begins mass production in 2021, Plus will develop a sales and support network to help fleets integrate the Plus automated trucking system into their daily operations. The company will also scale deployments in the U.S. and China, and expand internationally to Europe and other parts of Asia. Growing the talented engineering team will also allow Plus to continue the development of its cutting-edge automated driving technology. "Trucking accidents and growing truck driver shortage affect our economy and daily lives. All of us at Plus are inspired every day to develop automated trucks that are going to make our world safer and greener, and help fleets drive more fuel efficiently and reduce operating costs," said David Liu, CEO and Co-founder, Plus. "The addiional funding and continued support of our investors will help us further scale our commercialization efforts, enabling us to serve fleets in more countries." The top tier investor base backing Plus speaks volumes about the company's business and technology achievements and plans. Guotai Junan International is a Hong Kong-listed leading investment bank that has also invested in other innovative technology companies. CPE is a leading private equity investment firm which has backed a number of mobility companies. Wanxiang is one of China's top automotive components suppliers. Existing investors GSR Ventures, Sequoia, China Growth Capital, Lightspeed, and Mayfield are top venture capital firms. Strategic investors include SAIC (News - Alert) Capital, the investment arm of China's largest carmaker SAIC Motor Co., and FTA, world's largest trucking platform serving over 10 million truckers and five million shippers. Since its founding in 2016, Plus has developed key partnerships that has enabled the company to forge a clear path to commercialization. Its key milestones include:
Automated trucks powered by the Plus automated driving system will start mass production this year, and over 10,000 units have been pre-ordered. In the next few years, Plus expects to have its automated driving system deployed on tens of thousands of trucks across the U.S., China, and Europe. About Plus Plus is a world leader in self-driving truck technology. Headquartered in Cupertino, CA (News - Alert), the heart of Silicon Valley, the company was founded in 2016 by a group of serial entrepreneurs and industry veterans, each with over 20 years of experience in high tech and artificial intelligence. Plus specializes in providing full-stack self-driving technology to enable large scale autonomous commercial transport. Plus is currently working with some of the leading truck manufacturers, largest shippers, and top fleet operators to begin mass production of its automated driving system. For more information, please visit www.plus.ai.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210210005536/en/ |