Although the news that the official general of Naha Automobile, a new force in car building, invested in its D-round financing on April 26th, which was interpreted by some people in the industry as "360officially ending the construction of cars", in fact, the cooperation between the two sides is only at the stage of "intention".
At the same time, the Financial Associated Press reporter learned exclusively that 360 will continue to invest in smart cars and has been in contact with potential targets.
The mysterious Zhou Hongyi
"the media release of 360's cooperation in investing in Nahan is only one of 360's intention to invest in the field of new energy smart vehicles, and the letter of intent involved at this stage is not legally binding." On April 27, 360 official said that 360 is still learning and studying in the field of smart electric vehicles, and all kinds of cooperation will be actively promoted and remain open.
However, sources close to 360's cooperation with Nezha later disclosed more detailed information to the FYF reporter. "360 chose to cooperate with Nahan Automobile this time, because the latter is currently the leading car company in the second echelon of car-building new forces after Weilai, Xiaopeng and ideal, and there is better room for improvement in the future." The person familiar with the matter further revealed, "360 will continue to invest in smart vehicles. In addition to investing in 360, it is already in contact with other potential investment targets for new energy vehicles." At the same time, 360 will continue to focus on security technology and will not involve hardware for the time being. "
The day before, Naha Motors announced the launch of D-round financing, with a financing amount of about 3 billion yuan. Internet security leading company 360 is expected to become the second largest shareholder of Naga after completing all the investment.
"it mainly focuses on 360's accumulation in software technology and AI technology, Zhou Hongyi, chairman of the board, and his excellent insights on Internet marketing, as well as his ability to help the automotive team broaden their financing and IPO path." Zhang Yong, co-founder and CEO of Nezha Automobile, explained to the outside world why he chose to cooperate with 360.
The cooperation between 360 and Nashi Automobile has been shown during the Shanghai Auto Show. On April 19, the first day of the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show, Zhou Hongyi showed up at the car booth and sat in the front row, watching the launch of the car. At that time, some insiders revealed that the two sides had been in contact two months ago, and Zhou Hongyi had also led a team to the car factory to investigate and experience which car products.
However, Zhou Hongyi, who wore a mask all the time and did not say a word, went to the zero-running booth of another new car-building force after attending the car press conference. Its "erratic" itinerary and silent attitude also leave a huge imagination space for the outside world.
Take a peek at the automobile industry for a long time
On the same day that General Guan Xuan 360 invested in its D-round financing news on April 26th, Zhou Hongyi finally made his voice.
At the 360 performance presentation held in the evening, Zhou Hongyi said that the company is actively exploring market opportunities in the field of smart vehicle safety and judging the feasibility of increasing investment in related fields and further developing commercial business related to smart vehicle safety. The company has the first automobile safety research team in China-360 Sky-Go Team, can provide the world's leading safety solutions, and has carried out related project cooperation with many mainstream automobile brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BYD.
In fact, 360 has been engaged in safety technology in the automotive field for a long time. At the "two sessions" this year, Zhou Hongyi, a member of the CPPCC National Committee, put forward a proposal related to the safety of smart cars. In the proposal, Zhou Hongyi suggested that cars should conduct network security tests, or even higher-intensity tests, like mandatory crash tests before leaving the factory, and through attack and defense drills combined with practical application scenarios, improve the level of network security protection for enterprises and vehicles.
Public information shows that at present, more than 85% of the domestic automobile manufacturers have adopted 360 safety technology and services. In addition, 360 has reached strategic cooperation with Datang Gaohong, a vehicle-road collaboration solution provider, to jointly export solutions for vehicle networking, smart transportation, smart city and other areas, participate in local vehicle-road collaborative construction, and promote the safety and ecological construction of vehicle networking.
However, it is clear that Zhou Hongyi's "ambition" does not stop there. According to previous industry news, 360 put car construction on the agenda as early as the beginning of 2020, and now the project team has about 10 members.
Since the beginning of this year, a number of technology companies, including Baidu and Xiaomi, have announced "building cars in the next market", while Huawei and DJI have also participated in the Shanghai Auto Show as Tire 1. However, 360 has also been laid out in hardware areas such as mobile phones, but it ended in failure and quickly slipped from the front-line technology companies. Compared with other technology companies, 360 is particularly cautious when it comes to the automotive industry this time.
"in the end, the car may be the last part of the smart (technology) coverage, and everyone has to do it, and maybe they can find an opportunity." Internet industry expert Zong Ning told reporters, "but 360 will still be in the areas of security that they are good at, such as firewalls, security brains and so on."
