DeepWay raises $310 million pre-IPO to take autonomous electric trucks global

China's DeepWay has raised $310 million in pre-IPO funding as it prepares for a Hong Kong listing and for taking its electric trucks to international markets. The round shows that the bet on clean freight and smart tractor units is starting to attract not only Chinese but also foreign institutional capital.

The pre-IPO round

DeepWay is based in Hefei and develops heavy electric trucks with intelligent control systems. The company closed the new $310 million round at the pre-IPO stage, the point at which a business is expected to show investors not just technology, but also delivery scale, a clear roadmap and a credible shot at a public offering. For DeepWay this is not simply growth money but part of the preparation for its next big step: listing on the Hong Kong exchange.

An important detail of the round is the participation of an Australian pension fund. For a young transport company this is a strong signal: DeepWay's story is ceasing to be a local bet on the Chinese EV market and is becoming legible to global funds, which typically look at the durability of a business model, a long time horizon and the ability to survive capital-intensive growth. At the same time, the company is not yet profitable, which means investors are buying above all future scale and a position in the freight electrification segment.

What has already been built

In its home market, DeepWay has already delivered 6,400 smart electric heavy trucks to customers. For a company that is still heading toward an IPO, this is one of its main arguments: this is not a prototype or a pilot with a few dozen vehicles, but a notable volume of real deliveries. If it can sustain this pace, DeepWay will be able to address the market as a manufacturer that has proven demand for its vehicles and knows how to put a product into commercial operation.

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

Baidu's backing adds another layer of trust. For the market it means access to expertise in AI and autonomous driving, and for potential public investors, a clear story that DeepWay is building not just a battery truck but a platform at the intersection of transport, software and intelligent logistics. Such combinations now draw more attention than ordinary hardware makers without a noticeable software layer.

Why the capital is needed

DeepWay's ambition goes beyond the Chinese market: the company is explicitly targeting international expansion. For a heavy-equipment maker this is an expensive route. It must scale up production, service, supply chains, certification across different jurisdictions and partnerships with logistics operators. Against this backdrop, $310 million looks not like an excessive sum but a necessary cushion for moving beyond the home market, where competition in electric transport is already very dense and the cost of a mistake is especially high.

At the same time, the round highlights the limits of the current stage. The company remains loss-making, so its investment case for now rests on a combination of growth, technological differentiation and expectations of a future listing. For the public market that is not enough without convincing economics: DeepWay will have to prove that deliveries can scale without a sharp rise in costs, and that overseas expansion will not eat up the whole benefit of scale. That will be the main question for investors as the IPO approaches.

What this means

DeepWay's story shows where capital's attention is shifting in AI-driven transport: investors are no longer satisfied with attractive technology, and want real deliveries, industrial scale and a clear path to the public market. If the company can turn its Chinese operating experience into an international business, it will become one of the notable players in smart electric trucks. If not, the round will stand as an example of how costly it is to take the heavy EV business global.