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Byton EV Startup Hopes to Raise Another $500 Million

China’s Byton Ltd. is preparing a new $500 million fundraising round for its electric car business, sources tell Reuters.
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China’s Byton Ltd. is preparing a new $500 million fundraising round for its electric car business, sources tell Reuters.

The 3-year-old startup, a unit of Nanjing-based Future Mobility Corp., is currently valued at more than $4 billion. The company raised $500 million in a second funding round in June. Byton also opened its operational headquarters in Nanjing, where it will produce its cars, last June.

Byton hopes to launch its first model, the Byton M-Byte electric crossover vehicle it unveiled a year ago, in China by the end of 2019 and in Europe and the U.S. in 2020. The company also is developing a sedan and MPV that will share the M-Byte’s platform.

The company’s major investors to date include battery producer Contemporary Amperex Technology, Chinese vehicle maker FAW Group and Shenzhen-based investment giant Tencent Holdings.

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