George O'Neal, senior vice-president of Hyperloop One. (Photo provided to China Daily)
U.S. startup company Hyperloop One is seeking cooperation with four Chinese companies, as it aims to enter the Chinese market, its senior vice-president told China Daily.
It is also talking with a Chinese equity fund backed by a Chinese conglomerate for Series C funding.
"Four Chinese companies have participated in our Global Challenge competition with other applicants over the world and we will choose the winner to construct the world's first hyperloop networks," said George O'Neal, senior vice-president of Los Angeles-based Hyperloop One.
Hyperloop, a system initiated by U.S. business magnate Elon Musk, uses electric propulsion to accelerate a passenger or cargo vehicle through a tube in a low pressure environment. The vehicles are designed to travel at more than 1,120 kilometers per hour.
O'Neal said the firm plans to start building cargo systems in 2020 and the systems for passenger transportation in 2021.
"I am impressed by China's high-speed railway, its fast speed and stability, but we still have opportunities in China as the market is so huge and we can make people's lives more convenient by seamless connection," he said.
Premier Li Keqiang said in the Government Work Report in March that China will expand major infrastructure projects with the aim of increasing the length of high-speed railways in service to 30,000 kilometers and linking more than 80 percent of big cities in China with high-speed railways.
"We are starting Series C funding and talking with a large equity fund backed by a Chinese conglomerate, and we also have a company in Taiwan to connect with the fund from the mainland," said O'Neal.
Hyperloop One has financed a total of $130 million in both equity and debt financing through Series A and Series B funding.
O'Neal said the largest challenges for Hyperloop One are technological ones.
"Our costs are only about only 60 percent that of a rail transit system, and the costs will continue to be decline," he said.
