By Pencil News | Daxiong

On February 20, 2025, Beijing-based Neolith, situated in the Economic-Technological Development Area, announced the successful completion of a C+ funding round amounting to 1 billion yuan.

This latest funding round boasts an impressive lineup of investors, with Gaoxin Development Fund (managed by Zhangzhou Zhangjiang Private Equity Fund) contributing 300 million yuan. The round also saw support from several logistics giants and institutions, including CICC Capital. This comes after a C round of funding worth 600 million yuan in March 2024, marking yet another substantial capital injection for the company.

Neolith's cumulative funding for autonomous vehicle ventures now exceeds 2 billion yuan.

Neolith specializes in providing smart logistics tools and automated logistics information solutions, with its core business centered on the research and production of L4 autonomous driving delivery vehicles (RoboVan).

Leveraging cutting-edge technology, the company offers automated and intelligent services to the logistics industry, aiming to revolutionize traditional logistics operations.

Data indicates that Neolith was the first in China to obtain a public road license for RoboVan in 2021, thereby initiating the commercial operation of RoboVan on public roads.

More impressively, it stands as the largest supplier in the autonomous vehicle sector for companies like SF Express, JD.com, and China Post, with order shares surpassing 90%.

This is indeed a super unicorn in a niche market.

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Neolith Huitong (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. is a leading provider of smart logistics tools and automated logistics information solutions, specializing in the research and production of L4 autonomous driving delivery vehicles (RoboVan). Headquartered in Beijing's Economic-Technological Development Area, the company also has branches in Xiamen, Suzhou, Xiong'an, and Zhangjiang, Shanghai.

Its flagship product is driverless commercial vehicles.

These autonomous vehicles can reach a maximum speed of 50 km/h, boast a cargo space of 2.4 meters, and have a maximum load capacity of 600 kg. They also offer various functions such as thermal insulation and refrigeration.

A highlight of these vehicles is their modular cargo box design, which allows for personalized customization for different scenarios and enables quick and convenient battery swaps in just 30 seconds, significantly enhancing flexibility and ease of use.

Currently, Neolith offers three models: X3, X6, and X12, covering the autonomous upgrade spectrum from tricycles to minivans to light trucks. These models can meet logistics needs in various scenarios, including e-commerce express, fresh cold chain, supermarkets, and wholesale markets. The company has become the largest supplier of autonomous vehicles for SF Express, JD.com, and China Post, with order shares exceeding 90%.

Among affiliated express groups such as ZTO, YTO, and STO, Neolith is the only official supplier certified by the headquarters of each group.

Building on its core technology, Neolith is addressing long-standing pain points in the logistics industry.

The 'last five kilometers' segment accounts for 50%-60% of total logistics costs and is plagued by issues such as fragmented scenarios and inefficient vehicles.

Neolith's autonomous vehicles are designed to tackle problems like low logistics distribution efficiency, high labor costs, and limited delivery range. Calculations reveal that the delivery cost per parcel can be reduced by 50%, and the daily delivery volume per vehicle can reach 2,000 parcels.

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Neolith was founded by Mr. Yu Enyuan, an experienced serial entrepreneur who graduated from Chongqing University with a major in automation. Since 1996, he has participated in or led 11 companies, starting with the distribution of electronic equipment.

Mr. Yu Enyuan recalls, "The express industry is fiercely competitive. A vehicle that can cut the cost per parcel in half is the deciding factor between survival and elimination."

In 2016, the logistics smart terminals he developed accounted for 60% of the market share in the express vertical market, but he was not content. Realizing that 'hardware has its limits,' he understood that only autonomous driving technology could truly revolutionize industry efficiency.

Thus, in 2018, Yu Enyuan founded Neolith with the ambitious goal of 'restructuring logistics cost structure with autonomous vehicles.' That same year, the company unveiled its first autonomous vehicle.

In 2019, it established the world's first L4 autonomous vehicle smart manufacturing base; in 2021, it secured the country's first batch of licenses for autonomous delivery vehicles, becoming the first RoboVan enterprise to operate commercially on public roads. That year, it also released its first autonomous vehicle, the X3, marking a significant step toward commercialization.

Last year, it launched the industry's first 4D One Model perception large model, enabling full-scenario travel capabilities at 70 km/h. With order volume exceeding 20,000 units and products spanning 13 countries globally, the company continues to expand its reach.

To date, Neolith has successfully delivered over 3,000 vehicles, with a cumulative autonomous driving mileage exceeding 30 million kilometers. It has also obtained 'iron plates' for autonomous vehicle road rights from over 85 cities, making it one of the world's largest autonomous vehicle fleets.

Entering 2025, the company aims to deliver over 10,000 L4 autonomous vehicles, potentially becoming the world's first unmanned driving company to manage a fleet of 10,000 vehicles.

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The year 2025 is heralded as the 'year of explosion' for the autonomous logistics industry, seen as a crucial racetrack for the next five years.

In terms of market size, China's road logistics market amounts to 7 trillion yuan annually. In 2024, the express business volume reached 193.7 billion parcels, a year-on-year increase of 19.2%, averaging over 400 million parcels per day. The cost of last-mile delivery accounts for approximately 60% of the total cost, and the replacement potential for autonomous vehicles in this field is enormous.

However, competition in the autonomous logistics industry is also intense. While the logistics industry has not yet formed an absolute monopoly, large logistics enterprises and emerging technology logistics enterprises are gradually emerging, presenting a diversified competitive landscape.

Despite the fierce competition, Neolith boasts unique advantages.

In terms of business positioning, its key differentiation from competitors lies in its focus on creating all-scenario, multi-functional smart logistics solutions.

Neolith not only provides autonomous vehicle hardware but also a comprehensive logistics information automation system. It seamlessly integrates autonomous driving, 5G Internet of Vehicles, intelligent hardware, and autonomous vehicle smart manufacturing factories to build a new ecosystem of smart services.

The content of this article is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice. This article also references relevant content from IC Insights, RuiCai, and Jiemian News, to whom we express our gratitude. The images in the article are sourced from the company's official website.