Anika Begay
WeRide, a Chinese self-driving vehicle company, is officially preparing for its public debut in the United States, more than a year after China began easing its effective ban on foreign IPOs.
WeRide has registered 1 billion American Depository Receipts (ADRs) at a maximum price of $0.05, for a total offering of $50 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.
ADRs represent shares of a foreign company listed on U.S. exchanges, and offering them is a strong signal that WeRide is ready for a U.S. IPO.
The filing comes after Bloomberg reported that WeRide is seeking up to $400 million in its IPO and private placement, citing people familiar with the matter. About $100 million of that would come from the IPO and about $200 million to $300 million in the placement. If Bloomberg’s sources are correct, that means the $50 million in ADSs could be part of the IPO, or WeRide could issue more shares at a later date.
WeRide did not have time to comment.
If and when WeRide goes public, it will be the largest IPO of a Chinese company on the U.S. stock market since Geely-owned luxury electric vehicle startup Zeekr began selling shares on the New York Stock Exchange in May. Zeekr’s shares have fallen 48% since its debut.
WeRide initially filed confidentially to go public in the U.S. in March 2023. The AV company has raised a total of $1.39 billion at a valuation of $5.11 billion, according to Pitchbook data. But WeRide hasn’t raised a private round since 2022, and VCs have been shying away from writing big checks to autonomous vehicle companies with long paths to profitability. If WeRide hopes to grow and stay competitive, it will need to enter the public markets.
The company holds permits to operate autonomously in China, the United Arab Emirates, and Singapore. It also has permits to test with and without a driver in California and is actively testing in San Jose. In addition to a publicly accessible robotaxi operation, WeRide is working on a driverless robobus, a robovan (for delivering goods), and a robosweeper. The company also offers advanced driver assistance systems and plans to sell them to OEMs.
WeRide’s revenue for the first six months of 2024 was $20.7 million, down from its first-half 2023 revenue of about $25.5 million, according to a regulatory filing. That’s on a loss of $121.3 million for the first half of 2024 and a loss of $100.9 million for the first half of 2023.
WeRide isn’t the only Chinese AV company looking to try its luck in U.S. markets. One of its main competitors, Pony.ai, is also reportedly gearing up for a U.S. IPO again, after its previous efforts failed in 2021. Pony had been eyeing a public debut at a $12 billion valuation via a SPAC merger, but put it on hold as it struggled to get assurances from Beijing that it wouldn’t become the target of a crackdown on Chinese companies going public.
