Aiways
Electric vehiclesChina
New to Unitard
π Dead / Bankrupt
PeakΒ $1.59 BillionToday
~-100%
from peak
- π¦Became a unicorn2018
- πPeak valuation$1.59 Billion β18
- πBecame a Unitard2023
- πΈLast valuationWiped out
π₯ Raised & burned
$792M
Total raised
$336K/day
Burned Β· 6.5y alive
Funding: Crunchbase roster
Current status
Ceased China operations amid insolvency (2023β24); production halted, salaries unpaid, Shanghai HQ lease terminated
The rise & fall
6 moments Β· 2017β2024The key moments.
Feb 2017
Feb 2017
Founded in Shanghai
Another contender in China's EV gold rush, with Tencent, CATL and Didi eventually on the cap table.
CB Insights
2018
2018
Unicorn out of the gate: ~$1.59B$1.59B
A year after founding, Aiways joins the unicorn club at what proves to be its all-time high.
CB Insights
Jan 2021
Jan 2021
Chases $2B, comes up short
Reportedly seeks new money at a $2B valuation; despite roughly $1.4B raised over its life, real traction in China's brutal price war never comes.
Yicai
2023
2023
Production halts β joins the Unitard Club π
Salaries go unpaid, the Shanghai headquarters lease is terminated, and what's left of the company retreats toward Europe.
Caixin
2024
2024
On the brink of bankruptcy
By early 2024 Aiways is effectively finished β one more second-tier casualty of China's EV shakeout.
Caixin
$1.59Bof peak value erased Β· 6 years
How it happened
Aiways was a Tencent-, CATL- and Didi-backed Chinese EV startup that became a unicorn in 2018 at about $1.59B and was reportedly seeking funds at a $2B valuation in early 2021.
After raising roughly $1.4B it never gained real traction in China's brutal price war: production halted and salaries went unpaid in 2023, it terminated its Shanghai headquarters lease and retreated toward Europe, and by early 2024 it was on the brink of bankruptcy β effectively ceasing operations as one of the many second-tier casualties of China's EV shakeout.
Source: Caixin / Yicai / CB Insights (unicorn 2018 at ~$1.59B, sought $2B Jan 2021, raised ~$1.4B from Tencent/CATL/Didi; production halt and unpaid wages 2023, brink of bankruptcy 2024)
Founders
- Fu QiangCo-Founder / President (later CEO)No public profile matched
- Gu Fengco-founder & CEO (ex-CFO of SAIC Motor)No public profile matched
