(Yicai) June 30 -- Momenta Global has opened subscriptions for its initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with 14 cornerstone and strategic investors, including GIC, Fidelity International, and BlackRock, committing HKD2.9 billion (USD375.8 million).

Momenta will go public under the stock code [HKG: 6880] on July 7, with China International Capital Corporation and Deutsche Bank acting as joint sponsors. The IPO will comprise 19.9 million class A ordinary shares globally, of which two million Hong Kong shares and 17.9 million international shares, accounting for 10 percent and 90 percent, respectively, of the total. A 15 percent overallotment option was also added.

The offering price was fixed at HKD295.60 (USD37.68) per share, instead of opting for a price range, a rare move underscoring strong demand and the company's confidence in its prospects. Based on the price, and assuming that the overallotment option is not exercised, Momenta expects to raise a total of HKD5.9 billion.

Among the cornerstone and strategic investors, GIC and Fidelity committed USD100 million each, with BlackRock and Mercedes-Benz each pledging USD25 million. Suzhou Mosu Technology settled for USD24.8 million, Oaktree for USD20 million, and BYD's investment arm Golden Link for USD15 million. Franklin Templeton, Boyu, Gaoyi Entities, China Pacific Insurance Company, GF Fund, and China Asset Management Company Hong Kong each committed USD10 million. GigaDevice Semiconductor Hong Kong pledged USD6 million.

Analysts believe that the names of the investors and the amount they committed should not be the focus, as the investment reasoning behind them is also very important. In fact, they can be divided into three categories.

The first category is for international long-only funds and sovereign wealth funds, comprising GIC, Fidelity, BlackRock, Oaktree, and Franklin Templeton. They all have an exceptionally high bar for investment selection and favor entering at the stage where a business model has been validated, or a technological moat is already clearly visible, rather than betting on concepts.

GIC, one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds with nearly USD1 trillion in assets under management, has backed Chinese industry leaders, including Alibaba Group Holding, Meituan, and Kuaishou Technology, and more recently committed to artificial intelligence firm Anthropic and semiconductor giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation.

Fidelity, which also manages over USD1 trillion assets, has recently held core positions in China's AI sector, including InnoLight Technology, Eoptolink, Cambricon Technologies, and Montage Technology.

The track record of GIC and Fidelity points to a preference for companies that have already achieved scale effects or occupy a scarce position in their segment. Their decision to lead the Momenta IPO signals they believe it has reached that standing in autonomous driving software.

The second category comprises strategic industry investors, which are automotive giants Mercedes-Benz and BYD, and fabless semiconductor supplier GigaDevice. Mercedes-Benz and BYD are existing shareholders of Momenta, and their further commitment as cornerstone investors is qualitatively different from ordinary financial investment.

Carmakers publicly endorsing a supplier's IPO as direct customers sends a clear message: Momenta's driving software has passed the test of real commercial deployment, as it is not a technology demonstration still in the testing phase.

BYD's participation is especially notable. The company has committed enormous research and development resources to intelligent driving, and it is now publicly doubling down on an external supplier, suggesting a strategic relationship that has moved well beyond the scope of a standard procurement contract.

The third category is for top-tier Chinese long-only institutions. They are leading private equity firms Gaoyi and Boyu, premier public fund managers ChinaAMC and GF Fund, and insurance industry leader CPIC.

Gaoyi and Boyu are known for deep value research and rarely take a public stance on high-risk technology companies at early stages. ChinaAMC and GF Fund together manage over CNY3 trillion (USD441.6 billion) in assets, and their participation as cornerstone investors in a technology IPO reflects the appetite of China's top public fund managers for Hong Kong-listed technology assets.

CPIC, whose investment standards are shaped by the long-liability nature of its insurance book, typically requires a clear industry position and a valuation with an adequate margin of safety. Its participation can be seen as an implicit endorsement of Momenta's pricing.

Investors from the three categories converging on the same Hong Kong IPO is a rare occurrence in recent times. Momenta's equally unusual decision to bypass the customary price range and lock in a final offer price of HKD295.60 directly underscores the same conviction: demand was fully secured before the book even opened.

Momenta's Success Makes It a Rare Asset on HKEX

Founded in 2016, Momenta researches, develops, and commercializes autonomous driving technologies, with a product portfolio spanning mass-produced advanced driver assistance systems and scaled autonomous driving.

Its vehicle mass-production business generates large volumes of real-world road data and commercial revenue, driving algorithm iteration and technological advancement. Meanwhile, its scaled autonomous driving operations further validate and expand its autonomous capabilities. Together, the two form a virtuous cycle of data, technology, and commercialization, reinforcing one another.

More than 900,000 vehicles from 24 global carmakers were equipped with Momenta's systems as of June, according to the listing prospectus. The company's mass-production solutions have been deployed across more than 10 countries in Asia, Europe, Oceania, Latin America, and North Africa.

About 65 percent of the cars sold in Chinese cities between March 2025 and February 2026 were equipped with Momenta's navigate-on-autopilot system, according to data from China Insights Consultancy.

Momenta also operates robotaxi and robovan logistics vehicle businesses, having obtained commercial licenses and deployed mass-produced robotaxi fleets in multiple cities worldwide.

In April, the company launched its R7 World Model, a unified foundational model supporting large-scale commercialization across its mass-production ADAS, robotaxi, and robovan business lines, with future expansion planned into the robotruck segment.

Momenta's revenue grew at a compound annual growth rate of over 80 percent in the past three years, from CNY743 million (USD109.4 million) in 2023 to CNY1.3 billion (USD194.3 million) in 2024 and CNY2.4 billion in 2025, according to the prospectus.

Licensing revenue surged 42-fold to CNY968 million in the period, accounting for 40 percent of the company's revenue in 2025, reflecting meaningful progress in the transition toward a scalable software platform model.

Momenta's gross margin expanded to 71.6 percent last year from 17.5 percent in 2023, approaching the profit structure of a mature software company. Its adjusted net loss narrowed to CNY303 million from CNY1.1 billion in the period. Cash reserves exceeded CNY10 billion as of Dec. 31.

About 60 percent of the net proceeds of the IPO will be allocated to R&D, 20 percent to accelerating robotaxi commercialization, 10 percent to the vehicle mass-production solutions business, and the remaining 10 percent will be used for general corporate purposes.

With its dual-engine model of software mass-production licensing and proprietary autonomous driving operations, combined with three years of strong revenue momentum, Momenta is considered a rare asset in its sector on the Hong Kong market, analysts believe.

Editor: Futura Costaglione