WeRide

WeRide Inc. is an autonomous driving company headquartered in Guangzhou, China, that develops self-driving technology and runs commercial robotaxi and other driverless vehicle services in China and abroad. Founded in 2017, it builds systems it markets as SAE Level 4, meaning a vehicle can drive itself within a defined area without a human ready to take over. WeRide applies one self-driving platform across several vehicle types, including passenger robotaxis, shuttle buses, cargo vans, and street sweepers.^[1][9]

The company was founded by Tony Han, a former chief scientist of Baidu's autonomous driving unit, who serves as chief executive; co-founder Yan Li is chief technology officer.^[2][3] Before going public, WeRide raised venture funding from investors including Nvidia, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, and the Chinese bus manufacturer Yutong Group.^[3] It listed on the Nasdaq in October 2024 under the ticker WRD, and its shares also trade on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the stock code 800.^[1][6][8]

WeRide is often grouped with Pony.ai, another Guangzhou-based robotaxi developer started by former Baidu engineers that listed on the Nasdaq a few weeks later. The two are separate companies with distinct technology, fleets, and management.^[10][13] By mid-2026 WeRide said it operated or tested vehicles in dozens of cities across about a dozen countries, with robotaxi services running in Chinese cities and in the United Arab Emirates through a partnership with Uber.^[1][12]

History and funding

WeRide was founded in 2017, at first in Silicon Valley, and later centered its operations in Guangzhou.^[3][9] Han had led autonomous driving research at Baidu before starting the company.^[2][3]

Early backers included Qiming Venture Partners, Sinovation Ventures, and the chipmaker Nvidia, whose processors are widely used for the heavy computation that self-driving requires.^[3] The company's first outside financing in 2017 raised about $52 million.^[3] In 2018 the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance invested, and a 2021 round of roughly $310 million was led by Yutong Group, a large Chinese maker of buses and commercial vehicles that later helped build WeRide's Robobus.^[3] Subsequent rounds brought in IDG Capital and China Development Bank Capital. By late 2022, WeRide's funding rounds valued it at around $5.1 billion, up from about $3.3 billion in May 2021.^[3]

Products

WeRide describes itself as a "universal" autonomous driving company because it reuses a common technology stack across vehicle categories rather than focusing on a single product.^[1][3] The systems rely on computer vision and machine learning to detect and predict the movement of other road users, using a sensor suite that combines cameras, radar, and lidar.^[1]

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The company unveiled its production robotaxi, the GXR, in October 2024, saying the design drew on around 1,800 days of operational data from earlier fleets.^[11] Alongside its own vehicles, WeRide sells driver-assistance software and what it calls intelligent data services to the wider auto industry.^[9]

Operations and permits

WeRide says it was among the first companies to hold driverless permits across several countries, a list that has grown to include China, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and France.^[2][3] Its markets span passenger transport, logistics, and street cleaning.

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In China, Beijing granted approval for paid fully driverless robotaxi rides in November 2023, one of the country's first such permits.^[11] In the UAE, WeRide received the first national license to test and operate autonomous vehicles in 2023 and says it runs the largest robotaxi fleet in the country through its TXAI app.^[4] In Singapore it obtained autonomous-vehicle licenses in December 2023 and deployed both a shuttle bus and a sanitation vehicle in 2024.^[3][11] In Europe it operated driverless Robobus shuttles in France and has said it plans a commercial robotaxi service around Zurich in 2026.^[11][12]

Uber partnership

On September 25, 2024, WeRide and Uber announced a partnership to place WeRide's autonomous vehicles on the Uber app, starting in the UAE and explicitly excluding the United States and China. Tony Han and Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi both attended the signing.^[4]

The service went live in Abu Dhabi in December 2024, which Uber described as its first robotaxi service outside the United States. Eligible riders could be matched with a WeRide vehicle at UberX or Uber Comfort rates around Saadiyat Island, Yas Island, and on routes to and from Zayed International Airport. Each car carried a safety operator at launch, with the stated aim of removing them for fully driverless service.^[5] WeRide began fully driverless robotaxi trials in Abu Dhabi in May 2025 and widened the service area around the same time.^[11] Also in May 2025 the two companies expanded the arrangement to bring WeRide vehicles to 15 more cities, and operations later reached Dubai.^[11][12] By mid-2026 WeRide said its UAE robotaxis covered roughly 70% of Abu Dhabi's core urban area, and it set a target of growing its robotaxi fleet to 2,600 vehicles by the end of 2026.^[12]

Public listings and finances

WeRide priced its Nasdaq initial public offering on October 24, 2024 and began trading the next day under the ticker WRD. It sold 7,742,000 American depositary shares at $15.50 each, raising about $120 million; counting concurrent private placements, the offering brought in roughly $440 million.^[6][7] Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, and CICC managed the deal.^[6] In 2025 WeRide also moved to list in Hong Kong, where its shares trade under the stock code 800 as a secondary listing.^[3][10] WeRide and Pony.ai both sought their Hong Kong listings to raise money for fleet expansion as they pushed toward wider commercial operations.^[10]

The company has not been profitable. Revenue was about RMB 361 million in 2024 and roughly RMB 685 million (about $95 million) in 2025, and it reported net losses in each year as it spent on fleet expansion, testing, and technology.^[8] WeRide employed around 3,660 people as of 2025.^[8][9]

WeRide and Pony.ai

WeRide is frequently compared with Pony.ai, and the two are sometimes confused because of their similar origins and timing. Both are based in Guangzhou, both were founded by former Baidu engineers, and both listed on the Nasdaq in late 2024, WeRide in October and Pony.ai the following month.^[13] Pony.ai was founded in December 2016 by James Peng and Tiancheng Lou, raised about $260 million in its IPO under the ticker PONY, and took a Hong Kong secondary listing in November 2025.^[13] The companies compete directly in Chinese robotaxi markets and operate separate fleets and software. In the broader robotaxi field they also sit apart from US operators such as Waymo and the General Motors unit Cruise, which have concentrated on American cities.^[10][13]

See also

• Pony.ai
• Autonomous driving
• Autonomous vehicle
• Waymo
• Baidu
• Uber

References

1. ^WeRide, official website, weride.ai
2. ^WeRide, "About WeRide" (company and leadership), weride.ai/about
3. ^Wikipedia, "WeRide," en.wikipedia.org/...WeRide
4. ^WeRide and Uber, "WeRide and Uber Partner to Bring Autonomous Vehicles to the Uber Platform, Beginning in the United Arab Emirates," PR Newswire, September 25, 2024, prnewswire.com/...e-united-arab-emirates-302258701
5. ^Gulf News, "Uber launches first robotaxi service outside of US in Abu Dhabi," December 2024, gulfnews.com/...of-us-in-abu-dhabi-1.1733501921773
6. ^IPOScoop, "WeRide Inc" (IPO pricing and terms), iposcoop.com/...weride-inc
7. ^Reuters, "Chinese self-driving startup WeRide files for $440 mln US IPO," October 24, 2024, reuters.com/...ide-files-440-mln-us-ipo-2024-10-24
8. ^StockAnalysis.com, "WeRide Inc (WRD)" (IPO, financials, employees), stockanalysis.com/...wrd
9. ^Investing.com, "WeRide Inc (WRD) Company Profile," investing.com/...weride-inc
10. ^Nikkei Asia, "Pony.ai and WeRide eye secondary listings in Hong Kong," asia.nikkei.com/...secondary-listings-in-Hong-Kong
11. ^WeRide, press releases and milestones, PR Newswire, prnewswire.com/...weride
12. ^StockTitan, "WeRide Inc (WRD) News," stocktitan.net/...WRD
13. ^Wikipedia, "Pony.ai," en.wikipedia.org/...Pony.ai