Autonomous driving unicorn WeRide files for US IPO amid expansion plans in China, overseas

WeRide is seeking to go public on the Nasdaq stock market, as it conducts trials and commercial operations in 30 cities across seven countries

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WeRide is only the company in its industry with autonomous driving permits in mainland China, the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore. Photo: Handout

Ann Caoin Shanghai

Published: 5:40pm, 28 Jul 2024

Autonomous driving technology start-up WeRide has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq stock market, which could be the biggest flotation in the United States of a Chinese company since ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing’s ill-fated listing in 2021.

WeRide – a Cayman Islands holding company whose operations are mainly conducted by Guangzhou Wenyuan Zhixing Technology and its subsidiaries in mainland China – did not provide the amount of money it aims to raise from the Nasdaq listing, according to its filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.

The company, which had a US$5.1 billion valuation after its D+ funding round in 2022, said it was the only firm in its industry with autonomous driving permits in mainland China, the US, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore, according to its filing. At present, the company said it is conducting trials and commercial operations in 30 cities across seven countries.

Founded in 2017, WeRide said it was the only company to offer commercial L2 to L4 autonomous driving for cities. Most intelligent vehicles in China are classified as L2 or L2+, which stipulate that the driver must be alert and ready to take control at any time.

WeRide’s fleet of autonomous driving vehicles. Photo: Handout

L3 does not require hands on the steering wheel and allows drivers to safely take their attention off the road in certain traffic conditions, according to global standards body SAE International. L4 does not require human intervention in most circumstances, but the driver still has the option to manually take control of the vehicle.

WeRide, according to a Bloomberg report last March, planned to raise as much as US$500 million from its IPO, which would be the biggest US listing by a Chinese company since Beijing-based Didi – under the name Didi Global – raised US$4.4 billion when it went public in New York.