RoboVans have autonomously delivered thousands of orders in China. Source: Neolix
In one of the biggest private investments in China this year, Neolix Beijing Technology Co. has raised more than $600 million in Series D financing. The autonomous RoboVan provider said the deal is the largest private fundraising in China’s autonomous driving sector to date.
“Neolix will continue building a robust fleet, advancing visual algorithms and dispatch engines to deliver safe and efficient autonomous solutions,” stated Enyuan Yu, founder and CEO of Neolix. “Our goal is to empower urban logistics with autonomous driving, making RoboVans a new productivity tool and driving digital transformation in the industry.”
Founded in 2018, Neolix said it is a leading developer and provider of SAE Level 4 autonomous delivery systems worldwide. The Beijing-based company‘s RoboVan vehicles are deployed across express delivery, intracity logistics, and other applications. Neolix tested its platform with FedEx Express in 2021.
RoboVans designed for reliability, environmental generalization
Neolix said it has filed has filed more than 1,500 patents and that its “full-stack capabilities” span in-house software and hardware development, vehicle manufacturing, and intelligent dispatching. The company claimed that its RoboVans can run reliably in all weather conditions and at any time of day for round-the-clock autonomous operations.
In addition, Neolix said its proprietary Neolix-VA “end-to-end” vision-action foundation model enables its RoboVans to navigate complex traffic environments through spatial intelligence and behavioral reasoning.
Neolix asserted that its map-free autonomous driving enables “true point-to-point delivery on public roads with full environmental generalization.” The company said its AI-powered Dispatch Center integrates real-time data on vehicles, routes, and orders to optimize fleet performance.
Neolix usage grows across China
Neolix said it has deployed more than 10,000 RoboVans in 300 cities across 15 countries. Qingdao, China, has more than 1,200 units. They have operated over more than 50 million km (31 million miles) and completed 2,000 deliveries in a single month.
According to the company, its X3 and X6 models have each surpassed 4,000 deliveries, demonstrating strong market demand.
Since obtaining China‘s first autonomous delivery license in 2021, Neolix said it has experienced explosive growth. Vehicle deliveries have increased more than tenfold annually for two consecutive years.
Today, the company claimed that it has over 60% of cumulative market share, 70% of new monthly shipments, and 80% of monthly revenue in China’s autonomous delivery vehicle segment. It serves more than 300,000 clients ranging from large enterprises to small businesses.
In the express delivery sector, RoboVans serve major logistics players in China, including SF Express, JD Logistics, China Post, STO, YTO, ZTO, and J&T Express, covering nearly 70% of key account tenders.
Earlier this year, Neolix and Didi Freight jointly launched the world’s first RoboVan-as-a-Service (RVaaS) model for on-demand logistics to lower the barrier to autonomous delivery adoption. Diversified urban orders now account for more than half of Neolix’s monthly volume.
In the broader urban logistics segment, Neolix said it serves hundreds of top-tier clients and commands over 60% market share.
Investors to help RoboVan deployments spread
UAE-based StoneVenture led Neolix’s Series D round. Gaocheng Capital, CITIC Capital, CDH, Sparkedge Capital, Beijing AI Fund, and one of the largest internet platforms in China also participated.
“Neolix has been at the forefront of exploring the implementation of L4 autonomous driving technology in the logistics sector and achieving product-market fit,” observed Hong Jing, founding partner and CEO of Gaocheng Capital. “We are committed to continuously supporting and assisting Neolix in creating value for its customers and the broader industry, consolidating its leadership position, and facilitating the global expansion of China’s cutting-edge technologies.”
Other key investors included Legend Capital, Gaorong Ventures, and Templewater. Existing backer Yunqi Partners also increased its holdings, while Cygnus Equity acted as the exclusive financial advisor for the transaction. Neolix previously raised $14.5 million in May 2019.
“Amid widening labor shortages and surging parcel volumes, Neolix’s autonomous delivery vehicles represent more than just tools; they are keys to breaking through industry bottlenecks,” added Wang Lin, founding partner at CDH. “CDH VGC will leverage its extensive industrial resources to help Neolix integrate deeply with China’s robust supply chain ecosystem and diversified logistics scenarios, supporting its evolution from mass deployment to global ecosystem building.”
Neolix said it has secured the largest fundraising in China’s autonomous driving industry. Source: Neolix
RoboVan delivery robots to expand use cases
Neolix said it will use the funds for further algorithm and technology research and development. It plans to develop new products, enhance its service network and user experience, and accelerate large-scale commercial deployments to meet growing domestic and international demand.
The company is also expanding into fresh food, cold chain, supermarket, and urban freight. Neolix noted that a single RoboVan can complete over 10 delivery cycles per night shift.
Analysts anticipate exponential growth in autonomous delivery vehicles over the next three years. Soochow Securities has forecast that more than 30,000 units will be sold in China in 2025 alone.
Neolix estimated that China’s urban logistics market is currently served by about 30 million delivery vehicles valued at over RMB 3 trillion ($420 billion U.S.). Within three years, major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou could each see thousands of autonomous vehicles operating daily, creating an intelligent logistics network, it said.
Neolix has not limited itself to the Chinese market. In July, it agreed with the Incheon Metropolitan Government to promote RoboVan deployment in South Korea. Last month, the company joined Autoware, Japan’s largest autonomous driving association.
Earlier this month, Neolix partnered with K2 Group, an Abu Dhabi–based AI technology firm, to secure the first RoboVan license issued in the UAE, as it looks to scale deployment across the Middle East.
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