Lorry-hailing company eyes $1b funding for driverless technology efforts

BEIJING - Full Truck Alliance Group, a lorry-hailing firm in the mold of Didi and Uber, is close to securing as much as $1 billion in new funds to replenish its war chest and jump-start an expansion into driverless technology, according to people familiar with the matter.

China's biggest online marketplace for long-haul deliveries is in advanced negotiations with new and existing backers, including SoftBank Group Corp and Tencent Holdings Ltd, on a funding round that could hike its valuation by as much as 40 percent to $9 billion, the people said, requesting not to be named discussing private deals.

The estimate is lower than an initial target of $10 billion, reflecting cooling sentiment toward tech companies, the people added.