1KMXC Startup Diligence Report
Proceed only with confirmatory diligence focused on station-level unit economics, franchise/partner contracts, equipment reliability, safety compliance, China regulatory exposure and financing preferences before relying on the headline unicorn valuation.
1KMXC Startup Diligence Report
1KMXC appears to be an active private Chinese unicorn operating the YIGOLI robotic car-wash business. Public evidence supports unicorn-list status, product existence and a large public station footprint, but financial statements, station economics, customer concentration, safety records, cap table and regulatory matters remain largely private.
The target competes against well-funded incumbents and specialized alternatives; win/loss and pricing evidence are not public.
Diligence request: Request source documents and specialist review before investment reliance.
Public product claims do not establish reliability, scalability, roadmap delivery, quality metrics or technical debt.
Diligence request: Request source documents and specialist review before investment reliance.
Audited financials, revenue quality, margin, burn, runway and forecast assumptions are not public.
Diligence request: Request source documents and specialist review before investment reliance.
The $1B valuation is a public headline; preferences, liquidation stack, secondary components and current fair value are private.
Diligence request: Request source documents and specialist review before investment reliance.
Public customer/adoption signals do not disclose revenue concentration, churn, renewals, contract terms or reference quality.
Diligence request: Request source documents and specialist review before investment reliance.
Supplier, infrastructure, site, cloud, manufacturing or partner dependencies may create concentration and continuity risks.
Diligence request: Request source documents and specialist review before investment reliance.
Litigation, regulatory correspondence, security/privacy/safety compliance, IP ownership and material contracts are not fully public.
Diligence request: Request source documents and specialist review before investment reliance.
Public leadership/headcount signals are insufficient to validate org depth, compensation, attrition, succession and retention.
Diligence request: Request source documents and specialist review before investment reliance.
1KMXC's public valuation and financing anchors are visible, but financial statements, retention/unit economics, cash/debt and cap-table terms are private.
not publicly verifiable confidence: medium
Annual and quarterly financial information for the past three years: Audited financials, station cohorts, unit economics, cash runway, cap table, debt, equipment warranties and material contracts are not publicly available.
| metric | public signal | diligence request | status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue / ARR | GetLatka publishes a $22M 2024 revenue profile, lower confidence. | Audited financials, revenue bridge, billings, bookings and revenue-recognition policy. | not_publicly_verifiable |
| Gross margin / unit economics | Not publicly disclosed at diligence depth. | Gross margin by product/site/customer cohort and support or warranty cost. | not_publicly_verifiable |
| Retention / churn | No public cohort retention found. | GRR, NRR, logo churn, cohort waterfall and renewal pipeline. | not_publicly_verifiable |
| Cash / runway / debt | No audited cash, burn, runway or debt schedule found. | Cash balance, burn, runway, debt instruments, covenants and liens. | not_publicly_verifiable |
not publicly verifiable confidence: medium
Financial Projections: Audited financials, station cohorts, unit economics, cash runway, cap table, debt, equipment warranties and material contracts are not publicly available.
partially verified confidence: medium
Capital Structure: Audited financials, station cohorts, unit economics, cash runway, cap table, debt, equipment warranties and material contracts are not publicly available.
| stakeholder | public position | diligence caveat | status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Named investors | Goldman Sachs Asset Management; Alibaba Group / Alibaba Cloud ecosystem; ClearVue / Centurium / PICC | Ownership percentages, preferences, side letters and board rights not public. | partially_verified |
| Founders / employees | Jack Choi; Founding/operations leadership | Founder holdings, option pool, vesting and secondary sales not public. | not_publicly_verifiable |
| Debt / warrants / SAFEs | No complete public schedule found. | Request debt, warrant, SAFE/note and off-balance-sheet liability schedules. | not_publicly_verifiable |
partially verified confidence: medium
Other financial information: Audited financials, station cohorts, unit economics, cash runway, cap table, debt, equipment warranties and material contracts are not publicly available.
| date | event | amount or valuation | source | verification status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Founded / product development origin per CB profile | not disclosed | SRC-003 | partially_verified |
| 2021-08-30 | CB Insights unicorn entry | $1B valuation | SRC-001 | verified for public list entry |
| 2021 | Series D / D-II and prior Series C financing described in profile sources | $98.96M total raised / financing tranches publicly referenced | SRC-003 | partially_verified |
| 2024 | GetLatka revenue/funding profile update | $22M revenue estimate / company-reported profile | SRC-004 | low-confidence estimate |
| current | Current capitalization, preferences, debt and option pool | not_publicly_verifiable | company data-room request | not_publicly_verifiable |
Public sources verify active product positioning for 1KMXC; product quality, economics, roadmap and support obligations require private diligence.
partially verified confidence: medium
Description of each product: Public company and market-database sources describe a YIGOLI product line of unmanned robotic car-wash systems and an automatic refueling robot.
| product | audience | public evidence | verification status |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 / A1 Plus robotic car wash | Small sites and lower car-wash volume | Company site describes A1 and A1 Plus as suitable for small spaces and low volume. | partially_verified |
| A5 robotic car wash | Medium-volume sites | Company site describes A5 as suitable for medium spaces and medium wash volume. | partially_verified |
| A7 tunnel / large-site car wash | Large sites and higher-volume locations | Company site describes A7 as suitable for large spaces and high wash volume. | partially_verified |
| YIGOLI Energy Arm | Fueling automation | Company site describes YIGOLI Energy Arm as an automatic refueling robot. | partially_verified |
| product or tier | public pricing signal | diligence request | verification status |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1/A1 Plus | No public list price found | Request bill of materials, ASP, discounting and warranty reserve by model. | not_publicly_verifiable |
| A5/A7 | No public list price found | Request equipment sales, lease/service fees and gross margin by model. | not_publicly_verifiable |
| Station operations | Public station footprint but not economics | Request same-store revenue, utilization, wash count and maintenance cost. | not_publicly_verifiable |
Public customer, adoption or partner signals exist for 1KMXC, but top-customer revenue, contract terms, renewal health and concentration remain unresolved.
partially verified confidence: medium
Top customers by application: Public sources cite over 2,500 car wash stations across 138 Chinese cities and name municipal/enterprise relationship signals, but station revenue and customer concentration are not public.
| customer or signal | public evidence | use case | verification status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car wash station footprint | Public source cites more than 2,500 stations across 138 Chinese cities. | Site/network operations | partially_verified |
| Alibaba Cloud / Zebra Vehicle System | Company partner-news item references a Zebra Vehicle System partnership by Alibaba Cloud. | Technology / connected vehicle relationship | partially_verified |
| City of Wuxi / City of Xiaoshan / Hangzhou Police Department | Company partner-news list references municipal visits or partnerships. | Municipal and site-access relationships | partially_verified |
| CNPC regional visits | Company partner-news list references CNPC Liaoning and CNPC Hunan executive visits/ribbon-cutting. | Energy/forecourt deployment signal | partially_verified |
partially verified confidence: medium
Strategic relationships: Public sources cite over 2,500 car wash stations across 138 Chinese cities and name municipal/enterprise relationship signals, but station revenue and customer concentration are not public.
| partner | nature | public evidence | diligence gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs Asset Management | Capital / expansion support | Investor listed by CB Insights and public profile snippets. | Request commercial terms, exclusivity, economics and termination rights. |
| Alibaba Group / Alibaba Cloud ecosystem | Investor and technology ecosystem | CB list names Alibaba Group as an investor; company site references Zebra Vehicle System by Alibaba Cloud. | Request commercial terms, exclusivity, economics and termination rights. |
| ClearVue / Centurium / PICC | Capital providers | CB profile names ClearVue, Centurium and PICC-related investors in financing context. | Request commercial terms, exclusivity, economics and termination rights. |
partially verified confidence: medium
Revenue by customer: Public sources cite over 2,500 car wash stations across 138 Chinese cities and name municipal/enterprise relationship signals, but station revenue and customer concentration are not public.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Significant relationships severed within the last two years: Public sources cite over 2,500 car wash stations across 138 Chinese cities and name municipal/enterprise relationship signals, but station revenue and customer concentration are not public.
partially verified confidence: medium
Top suppliers: Public sources cite over 2,500 car wash stations across 138 Chinese cities and name municipal/enterprise relationship signals, but station revenue and customer concentration are not public.
| supplier or dependency | role | public evidence | concentration risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robotics hardware and sensors | Equipment bill of materials | Supplier identities and purchase concentration not disclosed. | not_publicly_verifiable |
| Cloud / connected-vehicle platforms | Technology dependency | Alibaba Cloud ecosystem referenced publicly but contractual terms undisclosed. | partially_verified |
| Municipal/site operators | Site deployment dependency | Municipal and CNPC-related relationship signals exist, but contracts are private. | partially_verified |
1KMXC operates in a competitive market where public positioning alone is insufficient; win/loss, pricing and buyer-reference evidence are required.
partially verified confidence: medium
Competitive landscape by market segment: 1KMXC competes in automated vehicle-wash equipment, site operations and automotive service automation against domestic operators and global car-wash equipment vendors.
| competitor | segment | public evidence | differentiator or threat |
|---|---|---|---|
| WashTec | Automated car wash equipment | Public global incumbent; competes on equipment reliability and service network. | Scale and installed-base competition |
| Istobal | Vehicle wash and care equipment | Global equipment vendor; competes on tunnels, rollovers and fleet solutions. | International equipment benchmark |
| Tommy Car Wash Systems | Car wash systems and operations | US car-wash systems/franchise benchmark; useful for unit economics comparison. | Operational model benchmark |
| Domestic automated car-wash operators | China local operators | Publicly fragmented competitor set; requires local market diligence. | Local site access and pricing pressure |
| axis | target position | competitor pressure | evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product breadth | Public product suite visible. | Incumbents may offer broader bundles. | Public company and market-database sources describe a YIGOLI product line of unmanned robotic car-wash systems and an automatic refueling robot. |
| Price / economics | Public price or packaging incomplete. | Pricing pressure and discounts unknown. | Public pages identify product tiers for different site volumes, but no public equipment price list or realized gross margin was found. |
| Distribution / customer trust | Public partners/customers exist. | Customer references and win/loss not independently verified. | Public sources cite over 2,500 car wash stations across 138 Chinese cities and name municipal/enterprise relationship signals, but station revenue and customer concentration are not public. |
Public GTM signals indicate plausible channels for 1KMXC, but CAC, payback, quota attainment, pipeline source mix and marketing budget sufficiency are private.
partially verified confidence: medium
Strategy and implementation: Public evidence points to municipal, gas-station, parking-lot, office-building, auto-repair and partner-led deployment channels.
| channel | public evidence | diligence request | verification status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Municipal/site partnerships | Company partner-news references city and police partnerships/visits. | Request signed contracts and revenue split. | partially_verified |
| Gas stations / CNPC-related sites | Company partner-news references CNPC regional activity. | Request site economics and exclusivity terms. | partially_verified |
| Office buildings, supermarkets and parking lots | CB profile cites stations near these site types. | Request station list and utilization. | partially_verified |
| Equipment sales/leasing | Product catalog exists, but price model is not public. | Request sales pipeline, ASP and lease/service mix. | not_publicly_verifiable |
partially verified confidence: medium
Major Customers: Public sources cite over 2,500 car wash stations across 138 Chinese cities and name municipal/enterprise relationship signals, but station revenue and customer concentration are not public.
partially verified confidence: medium
Principal avenues for generating new business: Public evidence points to municipal, gas-station, parking-lot, office-building, auto-repair and partner-led deployment channels.
| signal | public evidence | interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Company website product catalog | Active English/Chinese product pages and partner-news references. | Primary owned-channel signal |
| Market database listing | CB Insights unicorn and profile pages list stage, sector and funding. | Third-party market signal |
| GetLatka profile | Publishes estimated/company-reported revenue and team profile. | Lower-confidence market signal |
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Sales force productivity model: Public evidence points to municipal, gas-station, parking-lot, office-building, auto-repair and partner-led deployment channels.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Ability to implement marketing plan with current and projected budgets: Public evidence points to municipal, gas-station, parking-lot, office-building, auto-repair and partner-led deployment channels.
Public technical and product signals support active R&D, but roadmap, technical debt, development cost, security posture and quality metrics are not public.
partially verified confidence: medium
Description of R&D organization: The product evidence supports robotics, automation and self-service equipment R&D, but roadmap, reliability metrics and safety data are not public.
| project or personnel | public evidence | status or role | verification status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robotic wash systems | Active product family from A1 through A7. | Commercialized product line | partially_verified |
| Automatic refueling robot | YIGOLI Energy Arm described on company site. | Adjacent automation product | partially_verified |
| Self-driving / automation R&D | CB profile references use of financing to boost automation and self-driving R&D. | Pipeline signal requiring validation | partially_verified |
partially verified confidence: medium
New Product Pipeline: The product evidence supports robotics, automation and self-service equipment R&D, but roadmap, reliability metrics and safety data are not public.
| asset | public signal | diligence request | verification status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product designs and control software | Implied by robotic equipment; ownership and assignments not public. | IP assignments and patent review required | not_publicly_verifiable |
| Brand assets: YIGOLI / 1KMXC | Company-owned website and brand assets are active. | Trademark portfolio not verified | partially_verified |
| Site operations data | Large station footprint implies operating data assets. | Data rights and privacy obligations require review | not_publicly_verifiable |
Public management/team evidence supports an active operating profile, while HRIS, compensation, retention and background checks remain private.
partially verified confidence: medium
Organization Chart: GetLatka lists Jack Choi as founder/CEO and approximately 200 employees; this remains low-confidence third-party profile evidence.
partially verified confidence: medium
Historical and projected headcount by function and location: GetLatka lists Jack Choi as founder/CEO and approximately 200 employees; this remains low-confidence third-party profile evidence.
| period | public headcount | source or evidence | verification status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 200 | GetLatka profile estimate/company-reported field | partially_verified |
| current | not_publicly_verifiable | HRIS export required | not_publicly_verifiable |
partially verified confidence: medium
Senior management biographies: GetLatka lists Jack Choi as founder/CEO and approximately 200 employees; this remains low-confidence third-party profile evidence.
| name | role | public evidence | confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Choi | Founder / CEO | Listed by GetLatka profile; independent biography not verified in this run. | low |
| Founding/operations leadership | Not publicly mapped | Request org chart, biographies and references. | not_publicly_verifiable |
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Compensation arrangements: GetLatka lists Jack Choi as founder/CEO and approximately 200 employees; this remains low-confidence third-party profile evidence.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Incentive stock plans: GetLatka lists Jack Choi as founder/CEO and approximately 200 employees; this remains low-confidence third-party profile evidence.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Significant employee relations problems, past or present: GetLatka lists Jack Choi as founder/CEO and approximately 200 employees; this remains low-confidence third-party profile evidence.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Personnel Turnover: GetLatka lists Jack Choi as founder/CEO and approximately 200 employees; this remains low-confidence third-party profile evidence.
Public legal and regulatory evidence is incomplete; counsel review is required for litigation, regulatory, IP, privacy/security, safety, insurance and material contracts.
partially verified confidence: medium
Pending lawsuits against the Company: No public litigation or regulatory schedule was verified in this run; company operations likely require equipment safety, site permits and local operating compliance.
| matter | public status | diligence request | verification status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pending lawsuits against company | No docket artifacts reviewed or verified. | Counsel litigation schedule required | not_publicly_verifiable |
| Product safety / equipment incidents | No public incident schedule reviewed. | Request safety certifications, claims history and insurance | not_publicly_verifiable |
| Regulatory / permits | Municipal and gas-station deployments imply local permits. | Request site permits and regulatory correspondence | not_publicly_verifiable |
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Pending lawsuits initiated by Company: No public litigation or regulatory schedule was verified in this run; company operations likely require equipment safety, site permits and local operating compliance.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Environmental and employee safety issues and liabilities: No public litigation or regulatory schedule was verified in this run; company operations likely require equipment safety, site permits and local operating compliance.
partially verified confidence: medium
Material patents, copyrights, licenses, and trademarks: No public litigation or regulatory schedule was verified in this run; company operations likely require equipment safety, site permits and local operating compliance.
| asset or exposure | public signal | required artifact | status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product designs and control software | Implied by robotic equipment; ownership and assignments not public. | IP assignments and patent review required | not_publicly_verifiable |
| Brand assets: YIGOLI / 1KMXC | Company-owned website and brand assets are active. | Trademark portfolio not verified | partially_verified |
| Site operations data | Large station footprint implies operating data assets. | Data rights and privacy obligations require review | not_publicly_verifiable |
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Insurance coverage and material exposures: No public litigation or regulatory schedule was verified in this run; company operations likely require equipment safety, site permits and local operating compliance.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Material contracts: No public litigation or regulatory schedule was verified in this run; company operations likely require equipment safety, site permits and local operating compliance.
not publicly verifiable confidence: medium
Regulatory agency problems: No public litigation or regulatory schedule was verified in this run; company operations likely require equipment safety, site permits and local operating compliance.
| agency or domain | public evidence | diligence request | status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate / securities | Private-company status and financing are public; filings are not complete in public sources. | Corporate good standing, board approvals, securities filings and investor rights. | not_publicly_verifiable |
| Product / safety / security / privacy | No public litigation or regulatory schedule was verified in this run; company operations likely require equipment safety, site permits and local operating compliance. | Compliance policies, certifications, incident history and counsel memos. | not_publicly_verifiable |
| Material contracts | No complete material-contract schedule public. | Customer, supplier, cloud, partner, financing and lease agreements. | not_publicly_verifiable |
| ID | Claim | Status | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| EC-001 | CB Insights lists 1KMXC as a China-based industrials unicorn with a $1B valuation and 2021 unicorn entry date. | verified high | SRC-001 |
| EC-002 | Public profile data describes 1KMXC as Series D-II / alive, with approximately $98.96M total raised and named investors including Goldman Sachs Asset Management. | partially verified medium | SRC-003 |
| EC-003 | Public company and market-database sources describe a YIGOLI product line of unmanned robotic car-wash systems and an automatic refueling robot. | verified medium | SRC-002SRC-003 |
| EC-004 | Public pages identify product tiers for different site volumes, but no public equipment price list or realized gross margin was found. | partially verified medium | SRC-002 |
| EC-005 | Public sources cite over 2,500 car wash stations across 138 Chinese cities and name municipal/enterprise relationship signals, but station revenue and customer concentration are not public. | partially verified medium | SRC-002SRC-003 |
| EC-006 | 1KMXC competes in automated vehicle-wash equipment, site operations and automotive service automation against domestic operators and global car-wash equipment vendors. | partially verified medium | SRC-003SRC-005 |
| EC-007 | Public evidence points to municipal, gas-station, parking-lot, office-building, auto-repair and partner-led deployment channels. | partially verified medium | SRC-002 |
| EC-008 | The product evidence supports robotics, automation and self-service equipment R&D, but roadmap, reliability metrics and safety data are not public. | partially verified medium | SRC-002SRC-003 |
| EC-009 | GetLatka lists Jack Choi as founder/CEO and approximately 200 employees; this remains low-confidence third-party profile evidence. | partially verified low | SRC-004 |
| EC-010 | No public litigation or regulatory schedule was verified in this run; company operations likely require equipment safety, site permits and local operating compliance. | not publicly verifiable low | SRC-002SRC-003 |
| EC-011 | Audited financials, station cohorts, unit economics, cash runway, cap table, debt, equipment warranties and material contracts are not publicly available. | not publicly verifiable high | SRC-001SRC-003 |
| EC-012 | The company appears eligible as an active private unicorn because it remains in CB Insights unicorn lists/profile data and maintains current company-owned web pages; no IPO/acquisition/shutdown evidence was found in the public sources reviewed. | partially verified medium | SRC-001SRC-002SRC-003 |
| ID | Publisher | Title | Accessed |
|---|---|---|---|
| SRC-001 | CB Insights | CB Insights Global Unicorn Club | 2026-05-27 |
| SRC-002 | 1KMXC / YIGOLI | 1KMXC / YIGOLI company website | 2026-05-27 |
| SRC-003 | CB Insights | CB Insights 1KMXC company profile | 2026-05-27 |
| SRC-004 | GetLatka | GetLatka 1KMXC funding and revenue profile | 2026-05-27 |
| SRC-005 | DuckDuckGo | DuckDuckGo search results for 1KMXC | 2026-05-27 |
This report is a public-evidence diligence snapshot, not investment advice. Important financial, legal, technical, and contractual facts remain non-public and should be verified directly with management and primary documents before any investment decision.