DeepWay raises $310M ahead of IPO for global rollout of autonomous electric trucks

Chinese DeepWay has raised $310 million in pre-IPO financing as it prepares for a listing in Hong Kong and the global launch of its electric trucks. The round demonstrates that the focus on clean freight transport and intelligent tractors is beginning to attract not only Chinese but also foreign institutional capital.

Pre-IPO Round

DeepWay is based in Hefei and develops heavy electric trucks with intelligent control systems. The company closed its new $310 million round at the pre-IPO stage — that is, at the moment when a business must demonstrate to investors not just technology, but also supply scale, a clear roadmap, and a chance for public listing. For DeepWay, this is not simply money for growth, but part of preparation for the next major step — listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

An important detail of this round is the participation of an Australian pension fund. For a young transport company, this is a strong signal: DeepWay's story stops being a local bet on the Chinese EV market and becomes understandable to global funds, which typically look at model sustainability, long-term horizons, and the ability to survive capital-intensive growth. At the same time, the company is not yet profitable, which means investors are primarily buying future scale and position in the heavy truck electrification segment.

What Has Already Been Built

On its home market, DeepWay has already delivered 6,400 intelligent electric heavy trucks to customers. For a company that is still moving toward an IPO, this is one of the main arguments: we are not talking about a prototype or a pilot on dozens of vehicles, but about a notable volume of real deliveries. If this pace can be maintained, DeepWay will be able to speak to the market as a manufacturer that has proven demand for its equipment and knows how to bring a product to market in commercial operation.

• $310 million in pre-IPO financing
• 6,400 heavy electric trucks delivered in China
• preparation for listing in Hong Kong
• participation of an Australian pension fund in the round

Support from Baidu adds another layer of trust to the company. For the market, this means access to technological expertise in AI and autonomous driving, and for potential public investors, a clear narrative that DeepWay is building not just a battery-powered truck, but a platform at the intersection of transport, software, and intelligent logistics. Such combinations today receive more attention than ordinary hardware manufacturers without a notable software layer.

Why Capital Is Needed

DeepWay's ambitions extend beyond the Chinese market: the company is directly targeting international expansion. For a heavy equipment manufacturer, this is an expensive route. It requires ramping up production, service, supply chains, certification for different jurisdictions, and partnerships with logistics operators.

Against this backdrop, $310 million looks not excessive, but a necessary cushion for expansion beyond the home market, where competition in electric transport is already very tight and the cost of error is especially high. At the same time, this round also highlights the limitations of the current stage. The company remains unprofitable, which means its investment case still rests on a combination of growth, technological differentiation, and expectations of a future listing.

For the public market, this is insufficient without convincing economics: DeepWay will have to prove that deliveries can be scaled up without a sharp increase in costs, and that foreign expansion will not consume the entire benefit of scaling. This will be the key question for investors as the IPO approaches.

What This Means

DeepWay's story shows where capital attention is shifting in AI transport: investors no longer want just beautiful technology, they need real deliveries, industrial scale, and a clear path to the public market. If the company can transform its Chinese operational experience into an international business, it will become one of the notable players in the intelligent electric truck segment. If not, the round will remain an example of how expensive it is to globalize the heavy EV business.