Two Chinese autonomous driving companies, QCraft and DeepRoute.ai, have confidentially filed listing materials with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and are aiming to go public in Hong Kong before the end of this year. According to 36Kr, citing unnamed sources, DeepRoute.ai had submitted its listing documents by late 2025, about two months earlier than Momenta. In Hong Kong, an IPO typically moves through several stages, including filing review, a hearing, roadshows, and bookbuilding, before shares begin trading. Under smooth conditions, the process usually takes six to nine months. That timeline suggests QCraft, DeepRoute.ai, and Momenta could form a cluster of IPO candidates in the second half of this year. According to 36Kr, citing multiple investors, Momenta is expected to seek an IPO valuation of more than RMB 100 billion (USD 14.5 billion), while QCraft’s latest valuation is estimated at USD 1.5–2.0 billion. Its expected IPO valuation remains unclear. “Everyone wants to get listed before [Tesla’s] FSD enters China,” one industry insider said. Put more bluntly, if these companies wait much longer, they may lose even the chance to be priced at all. Pushing to scale before consolidation After the downturn of 2019, the financing surge of 2021, and the fight over mass production in 2024, the competitive landscape in smart driving now appears largely settled. The companies still in contention all hold sizable orders from multiple automakers. Momenta has built ties with domestic and foreign automotive groups including SAIC Motor, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, and Dongfeng Nissan. DeepRoute.ai, meanwhile, counts Great Wall Motor and Leapmotor as its two core customers. QCraft’s client base has also expanded from Li Auto to automakers including Chery and Geely. At the same time, demand is undergoing a structural shift. Smart driving is moving from an optional feature to a standard one. By 2026, urban navigate-on-autopilot