On April 17, Pateo, a connected car company, received a B-round strategic investment from the Chinese technology company Xiaomi Group.
In this investment, Xiaomi invested in Pateo as a strategic investor. The investment amount and specific share ratio have not been disclosed. In the future, Pateo will cooperate with Xiaomi in all aspects of software, hardware, and voice multi-scenario interaction.
According to people familiar with the matter, in the past few years, Pateo and Xiaomi have had in-depth communication many times.
Xiaomi Group launched the “smartphone + AIoT” dual-engine strategy from 2019. On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of its establishment in 2020, Xiaomi underwent a strategic upgrade, adding 5G + AIoT super Internet outlets.
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At present, the number of IoT devices connected to the IoT platform has reached 235 million units excluding smartphones and laptops. In the field of smart life, Xiaomi actively carries out multi-scenario layout. In the future, its voice assistant “Xiao Ai” will also play an important role in the connected car scenario.
As the winner of this round of financing, Pateo has formulated a “1 + 1 + N” strategy in development. The so-called “1 + 1 + N” refers to car + smartphone + N. N refers to various input and output devices, including smart homes such as headphones, watches, bracelets, TVs, and various IoT devices. This coincides with Xiaomi’s Internet of Things development strategy.
The History Behind Pateo
Founded in October 2009, Pateo is headquartered in Shanghai. It is mainly engaged in the research and development, manufacturing and providing supporting services of intelligent in-vehicle information service systems. As an independent third-party service provider, it is committed to building and integrating three parts: car, Internet, and mobile. The cross-platform system with automotive life services as the core provides connected car products or services for several major domestic auto groups, such as Bentley and Jaguar Land Rover.
Nearly 10 years after its establishment, Pateo has invested more than one billion yuan ($0.14 billion) in research and development, and has continued to invest at 28% of its annual revenue. It has a full set of operating qualifications in the Chinese car networking market. In the field of intelligent network patents, Pateo has ranked first for two consecutive years. And it is located among 104 of the top 500 nationwide.
Before this, Pateo has also obtained hundreds of millions of yuan of strategic financing from Dongfeng Group. And this time it has received Xiaomi’s capital blessing. There is room for further imagination of future development.