Tesla rival and Chinese electric vehicle startup Xpeng Motors is reportedly in talks to raise $300M in funding ahead of U.S. IPO

Just last week we wrote about Xpeng Motors after the Chinese Tesla rival raised $500M in Series C plus funding to accelerate growth and take on Tesla Model 3. This morning, CNBC is reporting that Chinese electric vehicle startup is in talks to raise around $300 million in funding ahead of an initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S.

Citing  two sources familiar with the matter, CNBC added that Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority, is one of the investors in the funding round. So far, Xpeng Motors declined to comment on the story. The Qatar Investment Authority was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.

According to the report, Xpeng Motors has confidentially filed for an IPO in the U.S., but has not decided which exchange to list on yet, the sources told CNBC.

Founded in 2014 by Henry Xia and He Tao, former senior executives at Guangzhou Auto with expertise in innovative automotive technology and R&D, the Guangzhou, China-based Xpeng Motors is a leading Chinese electric vehicle company that designs and manufactures automobiles that are seamlessly integrated with the Internet and utilize the latest advances in artificial intelligence. Xpeng’s backers includeIDG Capital, Alibaba Group Holding and Xiaomi among its major backers.

In April, the Guangzhou, China-based startup launched its second EV model, the P7 sports sedan in April, an electric car positioned to rival Tesla Model 3. The P7 sports sedan is Xpeng’s second production model and has a driving range of about 438 miles on a single charge, the longest among electric vehicles sold in China.