Chinese satellite navigation service provider Qianxun Spatial Intelligence (Qianxun SI) has secured a new investment to bring its total fundraising in the Series B round to over 1 billion yuan (about $136.8 million).
Founded in August 2015 as a 50-50 joint venture (JV) between China’s Norinco Group and technology giant Alibaba Group, Qianxun SI offers high-precision satellite positioning solutions based on its self-built, ground-based augmentation system that combines over 6,000 reference stations.
Its suite of satellite positioning equipment and solutions leverages technologies, such as digital twins, artificial intelligence (AI), and multi-sensor collaboration, to enable real-world applications from autonomous driving to smart city operations.
The company has served more than 2.3 billion users across over 230 countries and regions globally, according to its website.
The Series B financing will allow Qianxun SI to improve its capabilities in building large geospatial models and a cloud and chip-enabled product line, the company said in a statement.
It also aims to step up its services outside China and enhance user experience for clients across emerging sectors like embodied intelligence and the so-called low-altitude economy, which refers to economic activities in airspace below 1,000 metres (3280.8 feet) and powered by manned or unmanned aviation applications from drone deliveries and surveillance to flying cars and tourism.
The latest deal comes months after Qianxun SI completed an earlier tranche in August 2024, when the startup boasted a post-money valuation of over 16 billion yuan ($2.2 billion). Its latest valuation remains undisclosed.
Through the Series B round, it roped in new investors, including a spatial intelligence industry fund backed by local governments in Zhuzhou City in southern China and a vehicle managed by Beijing-based private equity firm Broad Vision Funds.
Investors in its earlier Series B tranche were largely state capital investors in China, including the 10-billion-yuan ($1.4 billion) Beijing Information Industry Development Investment Fund, which led the previous deal.
In October 2019, the Shanghai-headquartered company was valued at over 13 billion yuan ($1.8 billion) upon the completion of its 1-billion-yuan Series A round. ICBC Financial Asset Investment; state-backed SIG Asset Management; and China’s biggest state-level venture capital firm, China Venture Capital Fund Corporation, were its Series A lead investors.
