LeSEE (Super Electric Ecosystem), the electric car division of LeEco, has raised over $1 billion (Rs 7,239 crore) in their first round of funding. The electric car is called the LeEco LeSEE Autonomous Electric SuperCar, demonstrated as a concept during an event in Beijing. The Beijing-based company has attracted a group of Chinese investors for the project’s initial funding, including names like- Legend Holdings Corp., Yingda Capital Management Co., Shenzhen Capital Group Co Ltd, China Minsheng Trust, Macrolink Group, and Hongzhao Fund.
LeEco founder and CEO, YT Jia mentioned in a statement: "The $1.08 billion funding has set a new benchmark for the global automobile industry. This is a milestone for us. The participation of major institutions is a testament to their appreciation of the ecosystem business model and global strategy of LeEco. From this point on, LeSee will accelerate towards its goal of building a global electric transportation ecosystem powered by smart internet technology."
In April, at the Beijing Auto Show, the company revealed its electric concept car, called the LeSee, a four-door sedan-coupe with suicide doors which featured autopilot technology for autonomous capabilities, machine learning of facial impression, emotion, system, and path recognition. This car is intended to compete with US-based Tesla's electric cars. It can be remote-controlled with a smartphone. LeEco claims that the concept car comes with an autopilot technology for an autonomous driving, with sensors located in a roof-based pod. When in its autonomous mode, the steering wheel folds into the dashboard. This indicates the LeSEE is fully autonomous, unlike the semi-autonomous Tesla Model S.
LeEco’s founder Jia Yueting has also connected to Faraday Future, an American electric vehicle startup. The company also has an associations with another autonomous electric car startup from the US, called the Atieva. Earlier this year, LeEco also signed an agreement with Aston Martin to work on the Aston Martin RapidE, an electric vehicle concept.
