Chinese drone-maker EHang is considering a U.S. stock market listing that could raise between $400 and $500 million.
U.S. financial services firms Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse are working on the offering.
Chinese companies raised $9.1 billion in U.S. IPOs last year, the highest since 2014 when e-commerce giant Alibaba went public with a $25 billion IPO.
Global spending on drones is projected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 30 percent in the next five years.
Chinese drone maker EHang is planning a U.S. initial public offering (IPO) this year, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter, with one saying it could raise between $400 and $500 million.
Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse are working on the offering, the people said. Another person said the deal was unlikely to be as large as $500 million.
Credit Suisse declined to comment. EHang and Morgan Stanley did not reply to requests for comment.
Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Guangzhou province, EHang first made headlines in 2016 when it unveiled a passenger drone concept which it said would
retail at up to $300,000.
Early last year it said it had completed tests for the vehicle which is capable of carrying one person at speeds of up to 130 kph.
In May EHang broke the Guinness World Record for most drones flown simultaneously in a 13-minute flight that involved 1,374 drones spread over a
kilometer.
China has championed rapid development in its tech sector in a bid to build world-leading firms and reduce dependence on foreign products, including semiconductors,
robots and drones.
Global spending on drones was estimated to reach $9 billion last year and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 30 percent in the next five years,
according to research firm IDC, which estimates more than half of that spending will be on drones for commercial use.
EHang specializes in aerial landscaping. In consumer drones it is dwarfed by fellow Chinese drone maker SZ DJI Technology Co Ltd, which is the world’s largest maker of
non-military drones and plans to list in either Hong Kong or mainland China.
EHang joins a host of other Chinese start-ups seeking to go public in the United States, such as Tencent-backed live game-streaming platform Douyu, which has filed
confidentially.
Luckin Coffee, a Chinese rival to Starbucks, has also tapped three banks for a U.S. IPO which could value it at around $3 billion.
Chinese companies raised $9.1 billion in U.S. IPOs last year, the highest since 2014 when e-commerce giant Alibaba went public with a $25 billion IPO.