We’ve achieved a milestone in our work to help US tech company Panasas expand in China. We’ve secured a deal for the company with NIO, a pioneer in China’s premium electric vehicle market and the maker of the world’s fastest electric car.
The deal comes on the back of earlier wins for Panasas in the Chinese semiconductor industry.
Panasas is a leader in network-attached storage for high-performance computing environments. NIO is now using Panasas’ ActiveStor® technology to support the design and development of its high-end electric cars.
Panasas engaged us to connect the company with Chinese automotive manufacturers which would benefit from its high-performance storage technology. We identified and approached potential customers, sought meetings with their decision makers and technical teams and introduced them to Panasas’ storage technology.
Once a product match was confirmed, we negotiated a deal with NIO and worked with local channel partners to fulfil the order.
As a result, NIO has deployed Panasas’ ActiveStor product to create a high-performance storage environment capable of supporting computer-aided engineering (CAE) vehicle designs and crash simulation tests.
China’s automotive OEMs represent a strong market opportunity for western tech firms. They’re cash-rich, backed by considerable government support and have a track record of deploying technologies that expedite development and allow them to compete globally.
NIO rose to fame in 2016 with the EP9 — the world’s fastest electric supercar. The company delivered its first mainstream production car, the 7-seater ES8 high-performance electric SUV, in China this June. The ES8 features an onboard pilot system, an advanced autonomous driving assistant incorporating Mobileye’s EyeQ4 sensor, electric motor controls from Bosch and the first in-car artificial intelligence system. NIO plans to launch its next vehicle, the 5-seater ES6 electric SUV, later this year.
Faye Pairman, President & CEO of Panasas, said: “We identified China as a vital market for our business expansion and engaged with Intralink based on their track record in closing deals, particularly in the Chinese mobility and advanced manufacturing ecosystems.”
“Intralink quickly grasped our unique value proposition and we are thrilled that NIO chose Panasas ActiveStor to create the fast, flexible and easy-to-manage data storage infrastructure they required to support the enormous amount of data generated during their demanding product design process. As we expand our business in Asia, we are looking forward to continuing our successful partnership with the Intralink team.”
If we can help you target East Asia’s automotive markets, please get in touch with our Head of Automotive & Mobility, Tommy Shiekman.