According to the court information, on October 10, Tesla (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. as the plaintiff, sued Ice Zero Intelligent Technology (Changzhou) Co., Ltd. in the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court, the case for "infringement of technical secrets and unfair competition disputes." Just six months ago, Ice Zero intelligent technology has just undergone industrial and commercial changes, and Beijing Millet Intelligent equity Investment Fund Partnership has become an important external shareholder.
On October 10, the relevant person of Tesla China revealed in response to the Shanghai News reporter that during his tenure, Gu Mou, the former R & D personnel of Tesla, illegally downloaded a large number of Tesla vehicle technical secrets by taking advantage of his position, and privately provided technical services for Ice Zero Intelligent Technology (Changzhou) Co., LTD., suspected of leaking Tesla's technical secrets. After investigation, Tesla dismissed Gu in September 2022 and decided to file a lawsuit against Gu and Ice Zero Technology.
Founder used to work for Tesla suppliers
Founded in May 2022, Ice Zero Technology is mainly engaged in the research and development, manufacturing and sales of automotive parts, including integrated circuit chips, current sensors, DC relays, etc.
Jia Yongping, founder and general manager of Ice Zero Technology, graduated from the Department of Precision Instrument and Mechanics of Tsinghua University. He used to work for Sensata Technology, a supplier to Tesla, where he was responsible for the development and marketing of new energy vehicle products and served as the marketing director for Greater China and India. Jia Yongping has publicly said that he is very optimistic about the continued growth of the automotive sensor application market.
The business of Ice Zero Technology, founded by Jia Yongping, is also related to smart car sensors and components. Industrial and commercial data show that the company's business scope includes engineering and technology research and test development; Integrated circuit chip design and service; Sales of electronic components and electromechanical components; Electronic product sales, etc. There are currently five open patents for Ice Zero intelligence, mainly related to sensors and DC relays.
The key sensor and controller product market share of new energy has been mainly occupied by foreign brands, and the localization space of vehicle gauge sensors is huge. Ice Zero Technology was founded in May 2022 and reportedly achieved 15 million orders that year.
It is interesting that in March 2023, Ice Zero Technology underwent industrial and commercial changes, the registered capital increased from about 2.5031 million yuan to about 3.2819 million yuan, and the shareholders added Beijing Millet Wisdom equity Investment Fund partnership. Among them, Millet's intelligent equity investment fund has a shareholding ratio of 11.86%, second only to the founder Jia Yongping, becoming an important external shareholder.
Sky Eye check shows that Ice Zero Technology made a change in the scope of business in early August 2023, and the new business is mainly related to auto parts and electronic devices. Its main products are energy efficiency management sensors, which are mainly used in new energy vehicles battery system management, motor drive control, power module and other three electric systems. Public information shows that the founding team of Ice Zero technology is from well-known multinational enterprises in the field of sensors and controllers, and has rich experience in industrialization.
In fact, it is not the first time that Tesla has sued Chinese smart car-related companies. As early as March 2019, Tesla filed a lawsuit against a number of former employees suspected of misappropriating the company's trade secrets, including Cao Guangzhi, who has joined Xpeng Automobile. He was sued by Tesla for allegedly stealing the source code related to the Autopilot driver assistance function before leaving Tesla.
Xiaomi is positioning through equity investment
Intelligent new energy vehicle industry chain
Xiaomi, which crosses the intelligent new energy vehicle track from the smartphone track, is speeding up the car-building process. Xiaomi has launched a massive recruitment drive. Related recruitment advertisements show that millet cars need assembly workers, die-casting equipment operators, battery operators, maintenance workers and other positions. At the same time, Xiaomi is also recruiting non-production positions such as marketing teams and autonomous driving technology teams. In addition, Xiaomi Auto has begun the selection of delivery centers.
In late August, Lei Jun and Lu Weibing, president of Xiaomi Group, were found to be involved in road testing of Xiaomi cars in Xinjiang. A group photo posted on Lei Jun's social media account shows a banner held by Lu Weibing and others that reads "Fight for Xiaomi cars."
At the previous Xiaomi investor day, Lei Jun said that Xiaomi cars are expected to be officially mass-produced in the first half of 2024. Lu Weibing also said earlier that the progress of the car has exceeded expectations.
Some insiders said that due to the limitation of confidentiality agreement, there are not many companies in A-share companies, in addition to Guangting Information, SAN 'an Optoelectronics and other companies, which have disclosed that they have reached A product supply relationship with Xiaomi Automobile. "Only part of the surface, under the surface, there are actually more listed companies have quietly entered the smart new energy vehicle 'rice chain'."
The cost of the largest proportion of the core components of the power battery will spend who? A few days ago, it was reported that there are new changes in the battery suppliers of millet cars, and this year, the battery suppliers of millet cars at the first and second levels have been finalized in the era of Zhongchuang New Aviation and Ningde.
In this regard, Ningde Times and the relevant people of China New Airlines told the Shanghai News reporter that there is no relevant information disclosure. However, the relevant person in charge of China Innovation Airlines said that Xiaomi had invested in China Innovation Airlines before. Zhongchuang Singapore Airlines is the third largest power battery manufacturer in China after Ningde Times and BYD.
People close to Xiaomi Auto introduced that similar to ice zero technology and ZhongChuang New Aviation, Xiaomi has already laid out the intelligent new energy vehicle automotive industry chain through equity investment.
Before the announcement of car manufacturing, millet has laid out the industrial chain enterprises such as Steway, Biyi Micro, Diao Micro, Jingchen Shares, Nanxin Technology, Yi Dong Electronics, Zhuhai Guanyu, involving vehicle manufacturing, automotive chips, materials, automatic driving and other fields. After determining cross-border car building, Millet Group, Millet Yangtze Industry Fund and Lei Jun's personal angel investment agency Shunwei Capital increased the complement of automotive semiconductors, power batteries, intelligent driving, intelligent cockpit, chassis, mold and other important links in the industry chain. In addition, Millet's investment layout also includes the world's largest sales of Hexai technology, Zuotang and other lidar companies.
