Chinese self-driving vehicle company WeRide preparing for a US IPO
Autonomous car maker WeRide is looking to become the newest Chinese company to enter the US stock exchange market according to recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Provided by WeRide
The news comes after WeRide registered 1 billion American Depository Receipts (ADRs) at a maximum price of $0.05. This translates to $50 million and represents half of what the automaker is looking to raise from its IPO. ADRs are essentially certificates representing shares in a foreign company that trades on U.S. exchanges.
According to an earlier report, WeRide is looking to raise a total of $400 million. $100 million is expected to come from its IPO while it’ll be looking to raise the rest from private investors.
If the reports are true, then we’re looking at the largest IPO by a Chinese company on the U.S. stock market since Zeekr, The Geely-owned luxury EV startup debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in May this year, with the stock price soaring 38% in the first few minutes of trading. In the end, the company was able to raise $441 million after selling 21 million shares at $21 per share.
Unfortunately, Zeekr’s stock is down 48% since the IPO, which is not uncommon in the EV industry. Usually, the higher the shares jump in the early days, the further they have to fall.
According to Pitchbook data, WeRide is currently valued at $5.11 billion. The company has raised a total of $1.39 billion since its inception in 2017 with the last round of funding coming in 2022. The company holds permits to operate autonomously in China, the UAE, and Singapore. It also has permits to test with a driver and without a driver in California and is actively testing in San Jose.
Aside from their robotaxi service, WeRide is developing driverless solutions for buses, delivery vans (robovans), and even street sweepers (robosweepers). Additionally, they develop advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) that they’re planning to sell to other car manufacturers.
Despite its ambitious plans, WeRide's financial performance shows a decline in revenue for the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023 – $20.7 million vs. $25.5 million. It has also made bigger losses this year reporting a loss of $121.3 million for the first half of 2024 compared to $100.9 million in the first half of 2023.
WeRide isn't alone in its pursuit of a U.S. IPO. Pony.ai, a major competitor in the Chinese autonomous vehicle market, is reportedly planning a renewed attempt at going public in the U.S. after their previous SPAC merger efforts stalled in 2021.
