SemiDrive closes 2026 Series C at about $140M as chip shipments pass 14M

SemiDrive designs automotive processors and microcontrollers that automakers use for digital cockpits, gateways and core vehicle controls. The Chinese chipmaker said on Sept. 21 that it completed C+ and C++ financings, bringing its full 2026 Series C to approximately $140 million.

The hardware sits at different points inside a vehicle. SemiDrive’s X9 line handles infotainment and cockpit systems, G9 chips connect central and vehicle-to-everything gateways, and E3 microcontrollers support functions including head-up displays, driver assistance, battery management and lidar. The portfolio spans both the computers running interfaces and smaller controllers tied to specific vehicle functions.

SemiDrive had already completed a nearly $100 million Series C in May. The latest announcement closes out the year’s larger round rather than adding a fresh $140 million on top of that earlier financing; the company did not disclose the individual sizes of the C+ and C++ portions.

The company’s evidence of commercial reach is cumulative shipments. SemiDrive said its automotive-chip shipments exceeded 14 million by the end of August, up from more than 12 million around the May financing. On its website, the company says its products were deployed in mass-produced vehicles from China’s top 10 automaker groups and seven of the world’s top 10 by the end of 2025.

The capital will continue funding cockpit and vehicle-control chip development, but SemiDrive is also taking its automotive-grade approach into robots and industrial equipment. Its R1 processors are intended to handle AI inference, D9-Max targets real-time motion control, and its microcontrollers are offered for lidar, machine vision, joints, dexterous hands and motion hubs.

The contrast matters: the 14 million-unit record belongs to the automotive lineup, while Gasgoo describes the embodied-intelligence business as earlier stage. The financing therefore backs commercialization into a new customer base; it doesn’t show that robot-chip volume already resembles SemiDrive’s car business.