GM invests $300m in Chinese startup Momenta

General Motors said Thursday it will invest $300 million in Chinese autonomous driving startup Momenta, which is expected to accelerate the United States carmaker's development of self-driving technologies for its vehicles in China.

Founded in 2016, Momenta is one of the most promising Chinese startups in the autonomous driving industry. Prior to the deal with GM, it raised $700 million from investors including Daimler AG, SAIC Motor and Toyota.

"Customers in China are embracing electrification and advanced self-driving technology faster than anywhere else in the world," said Julian Blissett, executive vice-president of GM and president of GM China.

China is the biggest market for GM. Last year, it sold around 3 million vehicles in the country.

"The agreement between GM and Momenta will accelerate our deployment of next-generation solutions tailor-made for our consumers in China," said Blissett.

GM did not reveal details such as when the technologies co-developed with Momenta will be used in its vehicles.

Momenta has adopted a scalable path toward full autonomous driving by combining a data-driven approach to quickly iterate algorithms.

Unlike many startups, it has a "two-pronged" strategy, which focuses on mass-production-ready solutions as well as full autonomy as well.

Momenta has set a goal to save one million lives, save 100 percent driving time, and double efficiency of logistics and mobility in the next ten years.

"Together with GM, we will jointly invest in autonomous vehicle technologies to enhance driving safety, convenience and efficiency," said Cao Xudong, CEO of Momenta.

GM is investing heavily in a comprehensive plan to lead the transformation to a more sustainable future, guided by its vision of a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion.

In June, the carmaker said it is investing $35 billion in engineering and capital in electric cars and autonomous driving technology from 2020 to 2025.

Besides its partnership with Momenta, GM is also developing autonomous driving technologies through its subsidiary Cruise.

Cruise's autonomous driving system, called Super Cruise, is already used in GM's Cadillac CT6 sold in China. The carmaker said the system will be introduced into more vehicle models available in the country.

In China, GM is also expanding its design and engineering facilities to increase its capability to deliver over-the-air software updates and preparing to roll out the company's global battery platform Ultium.