Chinese autonomous driving startup Momenta has confidentially filed for an initial public offering in Hong Kong, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing two people familiar with the matter, as geopolitical tensions prompt Chinese technology firms to rethink overseas listing plans.
The sources said Momenta had abandoned earlier plans for a New York flotation in favour of Hong Kong amid heightened U.S.-China tensions. Details of the proposed offering, including its size and timing, have not yet been disclosed. The filing follows a regulatory change announced on May 6, when Hong Kong’s securities regulator and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange said technology and biotechnology companies would be allowed to submit listing applications confidentially — a practice previously limited to U.S. markets.
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Founded in 2016, Momenta was initially headquartered in Beijing before relocating to Suzhou, near Shanghai, in 2019. The company operates in China and overseas markets including Germany, Japan and the United States.
It has secured strategic investments from major global automakers and suppliers such as SAIC Motor, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Bosch, according to its website. In September, Bloomberg reported that Momenta was seeking a new financing round at a valuation exceeding $5 billion. Reuters also reported at the time that the company was considering shifting its IPO from New York to Hong Kong.
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Momenta is regarded as one of China’s most prominent smart driving solution providers after Huawei and supplies technology to international automakers including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Toyota and Nissan. In November, BMW said its next-generation iX3 electric SUV, due for delivery from the summer of 2026, will be the first model to feature a new driving assistance system jointly developed with Momenta. In September, Mercedes-Benz announced a partnership with the startup to co-develop a smart driving assistance system for the Chinese market, set to debut on the locally produced all-electric CLA model later this year.
The company is also developing in-house semiconductor capabilities. In August, Chinese media outlet 36Kr reported that Momenta had begun testing its first proprietary advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) chip, designed to compete with Nvidia’s DRIVE Orin-X processor.
