China’s autonomous vehicle startup WeRide prepares for a US IPO

WeRide, a Chinese autonomous vehicle company, is officially gearing up for a U.S. public debut, over a year after China started easing its effective ban of foreign IPOs. 

WeRide registered 1 billion American Depository Receipts (ADRs) at a maximum price of $0.05, with the aggregate offering coming in at $50 million, per a Friday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  

ADRs represent shares in a foreign company that are traded on U.S. stock exchanges, and offering them is a strong indication 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 sources familiar with the matter. About $100 million of that would come from the IPO and around $200 million to $300 million in the placement. If Bloomberg’s sources are correct, that means the $50 million of ADSs could represent a portion of the IPO, or WeRide could be issuing more shares at a later date. 

WeRide did not respond in time to comment.

If and when WeRide goes public, this will be the largest IPO by a Chinese company on the U.S. stock market since Geely-owned luxury EV startup Zeekr began selling shares on the New York Stock Exchange in May. Zeekr’s stock has 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 $5.11 billion valuation, per PitchBook data. But WeRide hasn’t raised a private round since 2022, and VCs have pulled back from writing large checks for autonomous vehicle companies with long roads to profitability. If WeRide hopes to scale and stay competitive, it’ll need to access the public markets. 

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 a publicly accessible robotaxi operation, WeRide is working on a driverless robobus, robovan (for goods delivery) and 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, which is lower than the first half of 2023’s 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 of $100.9 million in the first half of 2023. 

WeRide isn’t the only Chinese AV company that’s looking to try its luck on the U.S. markets. Pony.ai, one of its main competitors, is also reportedly preparing for a U.S. IPO again, after its previous efforts fell apart in 2021. Pony was eyeing a public debut at a $12 billion valuation through a SPAC merger, but put it on hold as it struggled to gain assurances from Beijing that it wouldn’t become a target of a crackdown against Chinese firms going public on foreign exchanges.