DST, a startup which provides online logistics solutions for new energy vehicle (NEV) fleet management, has secured an undisclosed amount of funding in the tens of millions of dollars in a Series C1 round, Chinese media reported.
Why it matters: The Shenzhen-based startup is taking a different approach to NEVs, betting on commercial logistics fleets instead of individual cars.
Details: The round was led by New York-based venture capital firm Olympus Capital, and the other two investors have both participated in DST’s past fundraising rounds.
- The first repeat investor, according to the report, is Japanese conglomerate Itochu Corporation. It participated in the startup’s October 2018 Series B when it raised RMB 300 million (around $43 million).
- The second is Jeneration Capital, a Hong Kong-based venture capital firm which led DST’s Series B+ in June 2019, when it raised $70 million.
- The new funds will be used to upgrade DST’s digital operation management platform, expand their smart assets and services, and fund research and development for new products, the article said.
Context: DST was founded in 2015 and provides maintenance and operation support for 10,000 NEV logistics vehicles using a fleet management app and a network of offline services.
- The company now counts more than 3,000 charging stations in 50 cities in China in its network, as well as maintenance facilities, according to its website (in Chinese).
- Qiming Ventures led the startup’s Series pre-A and A funding rounds, according to startup tracking website Itjuzi. The Chinese VC has also backed bike-sharing app Mobike, streaming site Bilibili, and artificial intelligence startup Megvii.