China Firms Accelerate Fundraising in Push for Advanced Car Tech

NIO Capital, the investment firm affiliated to electric-vehicle startup NIO, is close to completing the first round of its $500 million offshore fund that will put money in new automotive technologies, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. Horizon Robotics Inc., a startup seeking to dominate a market of 30 million autonomous-driving vehicles in China by 2025 with its chips, said it is to close a new round of financing to boost its research capabilities.

China has vowed to build a world-leading manufacturing sector with its Made in China 2025 plan as the second-largest economy moves upward in the value chain.