Debt-ridden entrepreneur Jia Yueting's electric car startup Faraday Future (FF) will create a joint venture with mobile-gaming company The9 Ltd. to launch a fully electric vehicle brand in China, FF announced Monday.

The9 said it will invest up to $600 million in the 50-50 joint venture, $5 million of which has already been paid.

The joint venture will produce and sell FF's new model, the V9, in China. The two companies predict an eventual annual production capacity of 300,000 cars per year, with rollout beginning in 2020.

"I believe that FF's strategic vision and product concept will integrate perfectly with the internet and user operation genes of The9," said Jia Yueting in the press release.

The step came after FF announced earlier this month that it would sell its land in Nevada, where the company once hoped to build a factory.

Founded in 1998, Nasdaq-listed The9 Ltd. was one of the earliest online gaming developers in China.

Related: Faraday Future Gives Up on Plan for Nevada Plant and New Model