Neolix X SF Express: How "Sweet" Is Autonomous Delivery? | Yunqi Capital

With little horns on its head, a black face, black feet, and a white body... this slightly adorable autonomous delivery vehicle spent a "genuine Labor Day" with SF Express couriers in Wujiang, Suzhou during the just-concluded May holiday.

This is an autonomous delivery vehicle developed by Neolix, a Yunqi Capital Series A portfolio company, for its partner SF Express. The vehicle is built on an L4 autonomous driving chassis and can operate in fully autonomous mode. It uses a battery-swap system, enabling 24/7 continuous operation.

SF Express is one of Neolix's key partners. For SF couriers, this autonomous vehicle is a genuine asset in last-mile delivery, significantly reducing the number of round trips between distribution points and residential compounds while improving delivery speed.

The numbers below show just how capable this delivery vehicle is: since 62 units began operating in SF Express's Wujiang, Suzhou network two months ago, they have logged over 220,000 kilometers and delivered more than 2.1 million packages — improving delivery speed by over 50% compared to traditional logistics models.

In this edition of Yunqi Capital, we take you inside just how "sweet" last-mile autonomous delivery can be.

➤➤➤ Neolix's autonomous vehicles are automotive-grade mobile service platforms combining L4 autonomous driving with service robot AI capabilities. In recent years, Neolix has been deeply focused on the autonomous delivery赛道 with the goals of "low cost, high efficiency, and road access."

From 2018 to present, Neolix has completed five product iterations. Its fifth-generation Neolix X3 autonomous vehicle is capable of autonomous driving at 40 km/h on urban public roads. While product performance has improved two to threefold with each generation, costs have also dropped significantly generation over generation, tangibly helping logistics customers reduce costs and increase efficiency.

Neolix also leads the industry in road access approvals, having obtained licenses for over 100,000 square kilometers of public roads across more than 30 provinces and cities in China.

As logistics and delivery market demand grows, Neolix is accelerating the commercialization of its autonomous vehicles, targeting leading logistics and express delivery companies. Beyond SF Express, it has also established partnerships with China Post, ZTO, YTO, and Yunda, achieving bulk deliveries in over ten cities. Since 2024, Neolix has secured orders totaling nearly 10,000 units from multiple leading customers.

Yunqi Capital has long been committed to the intelligent driving赛道 and is optimistic about the broad application prospects of autonomous vehicles in last-mile logistics and delivery. With years of logistics experience, technology R&D, and mass production capabilities, Neolix continues to explore business scenarios and build intelligent terminals for a better life. Yunqi Capital has supported Neolix since its Series A round, witnessing its growth into a leading company in the autonomous vehicle space. In March 2024, Neolix announced the completion of a 600 million yuan Series C funding round.

Technology empowers; the future is promising. Yunqi Capital believes that emerging technologies can improve people's living and production experiences, creating greater social value.