# Singulato (2014 – 2023)

- URL: https://girisimcikafasi.com/en/startup-graveyard/singulato/
- Sector: Mobility and transport
- Country: China
- Total funding: $2.3 billion
- Unicorn: yes, peak valuation $2.5 billion
- Cause of closure: Product problems

## What did it do?

Singulato was founded in Beijing in 2014 by Shen Haiyin, who had worked at Qihoo 360 and Kingsoft. It aimed to build smart electric cars, and its first model, the iS6, was previewed in April 2017. It planned three factories, none of which built a car. Its only product on sale was the Blue Shark electric bicycle, a late switch.

## Why did it shut down?

Singulato set out around the same time as Nio and announced large sums, including a USD 600 million round that the Tongling government joined. According to Caixin, by December 2018 it had spent all of the roughly RMB 7 billion raised so far. That month Tongling promised help with a permit and a second factory, and the headquarters moved there. The iS6 never reached series production. On 26 June 2023 the Tongling Intermediate People's Court accepted the liquidation case. By 20 August 2023 claims against the parent company had reached RMB 98.3 million.

## The story

Singulato was born in the first wave of Chinese electric car excitement. Shen Haiyin founded it in Beijing in 2014, and it was spoken of as a rival to Nio. The iS6 was previewed in 2017 and took the stage at the Beijing Auto Show in 2018.

The money seemed to flow. Jiemian wrote that the company had raised about RMB 17 billion, or USD 2.3 billion. Caixin reported in December 2018 that about RMB 7 billion had been spent, with no car to show for it. The gap between those figures is a reminder that funding announced and funding received are not the same thing.

Three factories were planned and none built a car. The Tongling government tried to rescue the company by moving its headquarters there. It eventually turned to electric bicycles, and on 26 June 2023 it entered court liquidation.

In nine years Singulato did not sell a single car. The story makes plain that in the car industry manufacturing discipline matters as much as capital.

## Lessons

- A car on a show stand is not a product. If you give investors a first delivery date, work back from it through every factory and permit step.
- Local government money is not free; it comes with conditions on factories and headquarters. Finish one car at one site before you plan three.
- A last-minute move into electric bicycles is less a pivot than a sign that cash has run out. If you want a side product as an experiment, start it while there is money.

## Sources

- [Former Nio Electric Car Rival Singulato Goes Bust](https://www.caixinglobal.com/2023-08-24/former-nio-electric-car-rival-singulato-goes-bust-102096024.html)
- [Electric-Vehicle Maker Gets Bailed Out After Spending $1 Billion and Making No Cars](https://www.caixinglobal.com/2018-12-28/electric-vehicle-maker-gets-bailed-out-after-spending-1-billion-and-making-no-cars-101364613.html)
- [Singulato: from 17 billion yuan to bankruptcy](https://en.jiemian.com/article/9983513.html)
- [Singulato Motors company profile](https://dealroom.co/companies/singulato-motors/)
- [Singulato](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singulato)