Linear Capital Angel-Round Project **Hongjing Drive** Closes Hundreds of Millions of Yuan in Series C1 Funding, with Middle Eastern Capital Backing Four Consecutive Rounds

"This is one of the larger funding rounds the intelligent driving industry has seen this year."

By Li Anqi | Edited by Li Qin

36Kr has learned that intelligent driving company Hongjing Drive recently completed a Series C1 funding round of several hundred million yuan. The round was jointly led by Quzhou Prosperity Industry Investment, Prosperity7, Zhongtai Renhe, and Walden International. Among them, Prosperity7 and Walden International participated as existing investors — the former being the venture capital fund under Saudi Aramco, which has now invested in Hongjing Drive three times.

The proceeds will be used for mass production deployment of intelligent driving systems and global market expansion. This marks one of the larger funding rounds the intelligent driving industry has seen this year.

Founded in 2018, Hongjing Drive focuses on providing integrated hardware-software intelligent driving solutions covering both passenger and commercial vehicles. Its product portfolio includes full-stack perception software, advanced highway driving and memory parking systems, and domain controllers.

The domestic passenger vehicle intelligent driving market has entered a phase of intense competition. Huawei, NIO, XPeng, and Li Auto continue jockeying for top-tier positioning; meanwhile, the emergence of end-to-end technology has pushed BYD, Great Wall, and their suppliers to catch up aggressively.

As a supplier, Hongjing Drive continues developing advanced intelligent driving solutions. The company stated it will increase R&D investment in BEV perception algorithms, cockpit-driving-parking integration, and other frontier technologies to develop next-generation ADAS systems and enhance product competitiveness.

Regarding end-to-end approaches, Hongjing Drive founder and CEO Liu Feilong said that considering system safety risks, the company will not blindly chase the end-to-end trend but will instead advance such solutions in phases. "As a full-line intelligent driving product supplier, we will continue investing in both our high-volume L2 product line and our high-performance premium product line."

According to official information, Hongjing Drive has achieved mass production and design wins across 30 vehicle models from SAIC, Great Wall, Chery Automobile, JAC, BYD, Hozon, and other automakers.

Beyond the fiercely competitive passenger vehicle segment, Hongjing Drive has also positioned new energy intelligent heavy-duty trucks as its second growth curve, developing hydrogen-powered heavy trucks with advanced intelligent driving capabilities.

The company stated that its L4 fully autonomous driving solution has already been deployed in several heavy truck operation scenarios, significantly reducing driver staffing requirements. Meanwhile, its L2+ NOA solution for open-road scenarios can substantially reduce driver workload and improve safety.

The company is currently working in deep collaboration with heavy truck manufacturers to produce and deliver new energy-powered intelligent heavy trucks for the global market. Following this funding round, the company will accelerate key market deployment of its new energy intelligent heavy trucks worldwide, including overseas partnerships with Aramco in the Middle East and Europe.

From an industry perspective, Hongjing Drive joins a growing list of companies — including automaker NIO and autonomous driving firm Pony.ai — that have secured funding from Middle Eastern investment institutions in recent years. This represents one survival strategy for domestic companies amid a capital winter. However, after securing funding, the enduring challenge remains how to continuously improve product competitiveness and market share.

Regarding this round, Quzhou Prosperity Industry Investment stated: "We are honored to participate in this funding round for Hongjing Drive. We have deep understanding and full recognition of Hongjing Drive's achievements in intelligent driving technology. Quzhou, as a hotbed of technology and innovation, will provide an excellent development environment and policy support to help accelerate Hongjing Drive's growth."

Aysar Tayeb, Managing Director of Prosperity7, said: "Prosperity7 remains committed to supporting companies with tremendous growth potential in high-tech sectors. As intelligent driving technology increasingly becomes a global focal point, Hongjing Drive — our only autonomous driving investment in China — is rapidly emerging as an industry leader through its cutting-edge technology and strategic vision."

Han Sen, Partner at Zhongtai Renhe, said: "As the intelligent vehicle industry flourishes, Hongjing Drive is demonstrating its irreplaceable market position and technological advantages. Zhongtai Renhe has long followed and supported Hongjing Drive's growth, and we are fully confident in its future prospects. The company's progress is reflected not only in technological innovation but also in its keen grasp of market demands."

Cover image source | Official

About Linear Capital

Linear Capital is an early-stage investment firm focused on "frontier technology + industry" — frontier technologies including data intelligence, digital new infrastructure, next-generation robotics, and new technological transformations in traditional domains (such as biomedicine, materials, and energy), applied across vertical industries to dramatically improve efficiency, solve pain points, and enable industrial upgrading. The firm aims to achieve outsized returns through substantial increases in industrial value. Linear Capital currently manages ten funds with total assets under management of approximately $2 billion.

Our investment stage focuses primarily on leading angel to Series A rounds, with individual investments ranging from $1 million to $10 million (or RMB equivalent).

To date, Linear Capital has made early-stage investments in over 120 startup teams including Horizon Robotics, Kujiale, Sensors Data, Tezign, Rokid, Guandata, and Agile Robots. The combined valuation of Linear Capital's portfolio companies is approximately $20 billion.

In the near term, Linear Capital is working to become the premier "Data Intelligence Technology Fund." Over the long term, it aims to build itself into the most influential "Frontier Technology Application Fund."