A Momenta robotaxi on display at the Shanghai Auto Show in April 2025. Credit: CnEVPost
- The self-driving firm is offering shares at HK$295.60 each, valuing it at nearly $9 billion.
- Momenta, with the code 06880, is slated to start trading in Hong Kong on July 8.
Chinese self-driving firm Momenta started taking investor orders for its Hong Kong initial public offering on Monday, seeking to raise HK$5.89 billion ($750 million).
The Suzhou-based company, backed by General Motors and Tencent Holdings, is offering about 19.9 million shares at HK$295.60 each, according to its listing document released Monday.
At that price, Momenta would be valued at about $9 billion. It is slated to start trading under the code 06880 on the main board of the Hong Kong stock exchange on July 8.
The offering has drawn a star-studded lineup of cornerstone investors. Fourteen cornerstone investors are subscribing to shares worth nearly $376 million, close to half the size of the offering.
These investors include Singapore wealth fund GIC Pte, asset managers Fidelity International and BlackRock, as well as carmaker Mercedes-Benz Group AG. BYD and Oaktree Capital are also taking part.
Notably, Mercedes-Benz invested in Momenta as early as 2017, making it the first international carmaker to take a stake in the company.
China International Capital Corp and Deutsche Bank are acting as joint sponsors of the offering.
Founded in 2016, Momenta supplies self-driving technology for mass-produced vehicles and operates robotaxi services.
It is following peers such as Pony AI (NASDAQ: PONY) and WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD) in tapping Hong Kong’s capital markets to fund its development.
The IPO proceeds will be directed mainly toward four areas. The company plans to allocate about 60% to research and development and about 20% to advancing robotaxi commercialization, with the rest going to strengthening its mass-produced vehicle business and supplementing working capital.
Notably, Momenta’s listing comes as demand in China’s car market remains weak. So far this year, the Hong Kong-listed shares of BYD (HKEX: 1211) and GWM (HKEX: 2333) have fallen 26% and 40% respectively, while smart driving chipmaker Horizon Robotics (HKEX: 9660) has plunged 54%.
In terms of financial performance, Momenta’s 2025 revenue grew 82.1% year on year to 2.41 billion yuan ($354 million), with licensing service revenue serving as a key growth engine.
But the company’s net loss widened in tandem to 3.46 billion yuan, driven mainly by hefty research and development spending. Its 2025 R&D investment reached 1.87 billion yuan, accounting for 77.5% of total revenue.
According to China Insights Consultancy, Momenta ranked first globally among independent suppliers in the urban NOA segment for the 12 months ended February, with a market share of 64.5%.
Nio has been in talks with Hong Kong regulators, hoping to convert to a primary listing without changing its user enterprise governance.
($1 = HKD 7.8429, $1 = 6.7940 yuan)
