image credit: Bamboo Works
Key Takeaways:
Boonray has filed for a Hong Kong IPO, setting up a race to market with larger rival Eacon
The company raised $165 million in a recent pre-IPO funding round from investors including BYD, the world's largest EV maker
Self-driving passenger vehicles get plenty of attention from media and investors, but far less goes to autonomous trucks that are used for everything from hauling materials at construction sites to mining. That's quickly changing, however, as a growing group of startups in that niche start tapping capital markets to fuel their growth.
The latest to drive into that queue is Shanghai Boonray Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd., whose listing application at the end of last January came just a month after the HK$1.42 billion ($182 million) IPO by rival CiDi Inc. (3881.HK) in December. Meanwhile, market leader Eacon Group also revived its listing application at the end of last year, meaning investors could soon have plenty of choices in this fast-emerging sector.
Both Boonray and Eacon have big-name backers, reflecting the big potential for their autonomous trucks. Boonray attracted leading electric vehicle (EV) and battery maker BYD in its latest 1.14 billion yuan ($165 million) funding round just days before it filed its listing application. Meanwhile, Eacon's backers include leading EV battery maker CATL.
Eacon, Boonray and CiDi are China's top three autonomous mining truck makers, in that order, in an industry that generated an estimated of 3.9 billion yuan last year. The sector is set to experience explosive growth in the next five years, expanding 64.2% annually through 2030 to 28.1 billion yuan, according to third-party research in Boonray's listing document.
Such trucks are not only attractive to mine operators for their precision, but also because they eliminate the need for humans in an industry that's prone to accidents that can result in injuries or even deaths. According to Chinese data, mining workers make up only 1% of the national workforce, but they account for 8% of workplace accidents.
China already has the world's largest fleet of autonomous surface mining trucks, with 2,090 last July, according ...
