Chinese smartphone giant OPPO's entry into the car-making business has become an open secret, as more investment by the company in the automotive sector is reported.

Local navigation map company NavInfo Co announced Thursday that its subsidiary Wuhan Jiekai Technology Co closed an RMB 100 million ($15.4 million) angel round of funding strategically led by OPPO.

The funding round marks Jiekai's formal entry into a period of rapid growth, and the financing will be used for research and development of new products and technologies, NavInfo said.

Jiekai Technology's parent company AutoChips, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NavInfo, focuses on the development and design of automotive electronic chips and related systems.

Headquartered in Wuhan's East Lake High-tech Zone, Jiekai Technology has a number of automotive electronic chips in mass production, which are used by a number of local and joint venture brand car manufacturers in China.

Jiekai Technology's core products are automotive-grade MCU (microcontroller unit) for automotive electronics and high-reliability industrial applications, including body control, BMS (Battery Management System), OBC (Onboard charger), ABS, T-BOX, BLDC motor control, industrial control and AC charging pile. industrial control and AC charging pile.

In 2021, Jiekai Technology has cooperated with over 100 key industry customers, including Changan Automobile and Great Wall Motors, the local Chinese brand car manufacturers, as well as the industry's leading system manufacturer Tier1 and many industry head customers, achieving a monthly shipment of over one million.

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(Photo source: AutoChips)