波士顿机器人出租车公司Motional获得现代汽车4.75亿美元的投资
【中美创新时报2024 年 5 月 4日编译讯】（记者温友平编译）自动驾驶初创公司 Motional 正在从其共同所有者现代汽车集团那里获得财务生命线。《波士顿环球报》记者亚伦·普雷斯曼（Aaron Pressman）对此作了下述报道。
这家韩国汽车制造商将向总部位于波士顿的 Motional 投资 4.75 亿美元，该公司是现代汽车与汽车科技公司 Aptiv 于 2020 年成立的合资企业。这项投资正值自动驾驶汽车行业一直在努力推进技术和 筹集额外资金。
现代汽车还将以 4.48 亿美元的价格购买 Aptiv 在 Motional 的部分股份，占该公司股权的 11%。Aptiv 将把其剩余的 21% 股权转换为优先股。Aptiv 在二月份宣布将不再为支持 Motional 提供资金。
Motional 确认了这些交易，安波福周四在其季度收益公告中首次披露了这些交易。
这家波士顿公司在一份声明中表示：“新一轮融资为 Motional 提供了资金，以继续开发其行业领先的自动驾驶汽车技术，并进一步实现实现无人驾驶汽车的使命。”
安波福首席执行官凯文·克拉克（Kevin Clark）周四在与分析师的电话会议上赞扬了这笔交易，称其“使 Motional 能够持续取得成功，同时满足两个合资伙伴的需求。”
Motional 成立于 2013 年，当时是麻省理工学院的子公司 NuTonomy，并于 2017 年被 Aptiv（德尔福汽车公司的一部分）以 4.5 亿美元收购。
根据 2021 年宣布的一项协议，Motional 同意开发一款基于现代 Ioniq 5 电动汽车的自动驾驶出租车。去年秋天，Motional 表示 Ioniq 5 机器人出租车的“生产就绪”版本将于今年开始部署。
其他汽车制造商支持的自动驾驶汽车项目面临着挑战。去年，通用汽车旗下 Cruise 部门在加州发生车祸后，不得不将其车辆从道路上撤下。 福特汽车公司和大众汽车公司于 2022 年关闭了他们共同资助的初创公司 Argo AI。
题图：NuTonomy 的无人驾驶汽车于 2017 年在 Drydock Ave. 上行驶。该公司被 Aptiv（当时称为 Delphi）收购，后来又得到 Aptiv 和现代汽车的共同支持，成立了一家名为 Motional 的合资企业。JESSICA RINALDI
附原英文报道：
Boston robotaxi firm Motional gets $475 million boost from Hyundai
By Aaron Pressman Globe Staff,Updated May 2, 2024
Autonomous driving startup Motional is getting a financial lifeline from its co-owner Hyundai Motor Group.
The South Korean automaker will invest $475 million in Boston-based Motional, which was formed as a joint venture between Hyundai and automotive tech company Aptiv in 2020. The investment comes at a time when the autonomous vehicle industry has been struggling to advance the technology and raise additional capital.
Hyundai will also buy part of Aptiv’s stake in Motional, representing 11 percent of the company’s equity, for $448 million. Aptiv will convert its remaining 21 percent equity stake into preferred shares. Aptiv announced in February that it would no longer contribute to backing Motional.
Motional confirmed the transactions, which were first disclosed on Thursday by Aptiv in its quarterly earnings announcement.
“This new round of funding provides Motional with capital to continue to develop its industry-leading autonomous vehicle technology and further its mission of making driverless vehicles a reality,” the Boston company said in a statement.
Aptiv chief executive Kevin Clark praised the deal on a call with analysts Thursday, saying it “positions Motional for ongoing success while addressing the needs of both joint venture partners.”
Motional started life in 2013 as an MIT spinoff called NuTonomy and was acquired by Aptiv (which was part of Delphi Automotive) for $450 million in 2017.
Under a deal announced in 2021, Motional agreed to develop a self-driving taxi vehicle based on Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 electric vehicle. Last fall, Motional said “production ready” versions of the Ioniq 5 robotaxi would start being deployed this year.
Autonomous vehicle efforts backed by other automakers have faced challenges. General Motors’s Cruise unit had to pull its vehicles off the road last year after a crash in California. And Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen shut down their jointly funded startup, called Argo AI, in 2022.
