Autonomous Driving Firm Autra Tech Secures Nearly $30M in Pre-A Funds

Autonomous driving trunk logistics company Autra Tech announced on Wednesday that it had completed a pre-A round of financing in April, totaling 200 million yuan ($29.9 million). The investors include Cathay Capital, Xianghe Capital and BAI Capital.

Previously, the firm completed two angel rounds in October and December 2021, which were jointly led by IDG and SF Holdings, followed by Rockets Capital and Baidu Ventures, totaling 191.5 million yuan.

Autra Tech, established in July 2021, focuses on L4 autonomous driving technology for trucks. It is committed to using driving technology to provide more cost-effective trunk logistics services.

Firm CEO Tao Ji said: “Based in China, Autra Tech is focusing on trunk logistics with leading autonomous driving technology, aiming at mass production and large-scale operation. We strive to promote the productivity of the trunk logistics industry through technological progress while relieving labor shortages.”

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In April, the firm said that in the next stage, it will verify that medium- and long-distance routes that originally required two drivers (such as between 600 and 1,000 kilometers) can be completed by one driver with the help of autonomous driving technology.

With 14 million freight trucks in China, severe labor shortages in the logistics industry are expected to occur in the future. There is significant room for the development of autonomous driving technology. According to CICC, the advantages of autonomous driving trucks are mainly in three aspects: They can increase truck operation time, reduce driver costs, and improve fuel efficiency. CICC also predicted that autonomous driving trucks can eventually reduce costs by 45%.