Recently, the Hurun Research Institute joined Guangzhou Municipal Commerce Bureau and Guangzhou Huangpu District in releasing the Global Unicorn Index 2021, which lists the global unlisted companies founded after 2000 and valued at over USD 1 billion. This is the third time that the Institute has released the list. PATEO CONNECT+ (hereinafter referred to as “PATEO”) has aggressively made it to this list, ranking 119th among Chinese companies, and 7th in China’s software service sector.

Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman & Chief Researcher, Hurun Report Inc., said that 2021 was officially the most successful year for start-ups ever, with the number of unicorns worldwide soaring to 1,058, representing a YoY increase of nearly 80%. In terms of quantity, China ranks 2nd with 301 unicorns, up by 74 over the previous year. "Half of the world's unicorns are operating companies doing FinTech, SaaS, E-commerce, AI, HealthTech and Cyber security, specific sectors that the world's smartest capital is investing into.”

PATEO CONNECT+ (hereinafter referred to as “PATEO”) from Shanghai has aggressively made it to this list that comprises a total of 1,058 enterprises (in order of sequence), ranking 119th among Chinese companies, and 7th in China’s software service sector. This is also the first time that PATEO has appeared on this list after it successfully clinched the 104th place among China's Top 500 Companies by Patent in 2019 and 403rd place among World Internet of Things Ranking List Top 500 in 2020.

Founded in 2009, PATEO has now become an IoV enterprise boasting an industry-leading capital structure & business scale as well as abundant automotive client resources in China, with business covering advanced manufacturing; the provision of hardware, software and cloud service solutions for the smart cockpit; and on the basis of its technical advantages in areas like operating system (OS), artificial intelligence (AI), High Definition (HD) map, as well as OTA and FOTA, it provides user-oriented software application development and operation services in SOA (service-oriented architecture) and the cockpit, vehicle & intelligent driving domains of the "Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV)".

Over the past 12 years, PATEO has always been sticking to the vision of "Lead the Ultimate Intelligent Vehicle Experience, and Reconstruct the Lifestyle in Mobile Space", and formulated a three-layered strategic plan on this basis:

The bottom layer is to build and improve the underlying platform of the IoV (including software, hardware, data and business) with PATEO's independent intellectual property rights (IPRs);

The middle layer is to assist vehicle enterprises with digital and software-empowered transformation;

And the top layer is to implement the construction of smart cities (smart mobile business, smart transportation, etc.) based on intelligent vehicle as a smart mobile space according to China's national strategy for intelligent vehicles, in a bid for rapid and long-lasting development.

So far, PATEO has gained possession of complete IoV software, hardware & cloud qualifications, including ISO/TS 16949, ISO 9002, ISO 45001, Internet map, ISP and ICP, as well as a full set of end-to-end R&D and production & manufacturing capabilities, thus able to provide total product solutions for the client.

A complete set of qualifications is the foundation for PATEO to be able to serve the client stably, while the continuous investment in IPRs is the secret to its growth into a leader in China's IoV industry. Since its establishment 12 years ago, PATEO has always been focusing on the investment in R&D of core technologies, making sure that 30% of its annual revenue is invested in it. So far, it has applied for a cumulative total of more than 5,400 IPRs, of which invention patents account for 82% of the patents.

The Statistical Analysis of 2020 China Automotive Patent Data released by ATIRI, CATARC (Automotive Technical Information Research Institute, China Automotive Technology and Research Center Co., Ltd.) show that on the list of intelligent connected vehicle (ICV) patent disclosures ranked by main innovator, PATEO is placed 2nd with 612 disclosures and a YoY growth rate of 77%, next only to Toyota; and as a representative of tech companies, ranks 2nd among the top 10 patent disclosures in the connectivity field, second only to Huawei.

So far, PATEO has developed a client base that covers nearly 30 luxury, joint venture & self-owned auto brands and nearly 100 vehicle models, with 200-plus variants iterated and business extended to more than 30 countries and regions, while maintaining fast-paced growth every year. Such remarkable achievements are inseparable from the grand overall planning and arrangement of the management, according to which, R&D centers have been set up in Nanjing, Shenyang, Dalian, Shenzhen and Wuhan, offices in Changchun and Beijing, a smart manufacturing base in Xiamen, and recently a branch office in Europe, expanding its horizon to international business. Technology empowerment must put the user first. The software / hardware / cloud technology service offerings of PATEO have been widely recognized by partners, comprising not only leading central state-owned enterprises (SOEs), such as FAW, Dongfeng Motor Corporation (DFM) and Changan, but also leading local SOEs, such as SGMW, BAIC, and BAIC BJEV; not only top luxury and joint venture brands, such as Porsche, FAW-Volkswagen, FAW-Volkswagen Audi and SAIC VOLKSWAGEN, but also top private enterprises, such as GWM and Geely.

“Looking up at the starry sky, aiming higher while keeping feet on the ground with a down to earth attitude” is the code of PATEOers. The all-new smart cockpit integrating software, hardware and cloud, the mobile phone interconnection featured intelligent connectivity system, the cloud-ecosystem integrated product, as well as the latest generation of smart cockpit characterized by multi-screen interaction and other products that PATEO has created have been successively equipped on the vehicle models of Dongfeng VOYAH, FAW Hongqi, Dongfeng Aeolus, SGMW, BAIC, ARCFOX, Huawei and Nobo Auto, among others, with mass production achieved.

As an explorer, PATEO has even established in-depth cooperation with enterprises like Huawei, China Automotive Innovation Corporation (CAIC), Lingxing Technology, and NETA (Nezha) to accelerate the expansion of the smart cockpit sector, and provide the client with integrated solutions for the smart cockpit that comprises hardware, software and cloud, ranging from domain controller and OS to application layer, thus helping more partners create a personalized driving / riding experience for the user with an open ecosystem.

2021 was a year of tremendous changes for China's automotive industry where new energy and intelligence became topics that aroused heated discussions. When we examine the Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2021, it is not difficult to tell that the application of information technology and cloud computing has driven a large number of traditional industries to transform towards connectivity, with traditional carmakers, vehicle startups as well as parts & software service providers facing the same opportunities and challenges.

Digital service providers represented by PATEO will continue to keep to the track of automotive connectivity services, with the aim of co-creating and achieving win-win results in the new consumption era together with automotive brands and OEMs through concerted & collaborative efforts and innovation cohesion.