Chinese autonomous vehicle company WeRide is officially preparing for a U.S. listing more than a year after China eased its effective ban on foreign IPOs. The company is seeking a valuation of up to $5.02 billion in its initial public offering.
WeRide expects to raise approximately $96 million from the offering, or $111.3 million if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full. This assumes an IPO price of $17 per American Depositary Share (ADS). The company is offering 6.45 million ADSs at a price range of $15.50 to $18.50 per share, so the IPO could raise up to $119.4 million.
In addition, some investors have already agreed to buy $320.5 million worth of shares in the simultaneous private placement. For example, Alliance Ventures, the venture arm of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, agreed to buy $97 million worth of shares. Other investors include JSC International Investment Fund, Get Ride and Beijing Minghong, according to regulatory filings.
The filing comes after Bloomberg reported that WeRide was seeking up to $400 million in an IPO and private placement, with about $100 million of that coming from the IPO and about $200 million to $300 million from the placement.
WeRide did not respond in a timely manner.
If WeRide goes public, it would be the biggest 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 originally filed privately to go public in the U.S. in March 2023. The AV company has raised $1.39 billion in total, according to PitchBook data, and is valued at $5.11 billion. But WeRide hasn’t raised a private round since 2022, and VCs have been reluctant to write big checks to self-driving car companies that have a long road to profitability. If WeRide wants to scale and remain competitive, it will have to go public.
The company has autonomous driving permits in China, the UAE, and Singapore. It also has driver and driverless testing permits in California, and is actively testing in San Jose. In addition to operating a public robotaxi, WeRide is developing driverless robobuses, robovans (for package delivery), and robosweepers. The company also offers advanced driver assistance systems, which it plans to sell to OEMs.
WeRide's revenue for the first half of 2024 is expected to be $20.7 million, compared to about $25.5 million in the first half of 2023, according to regulatory filings. That's after a loss of $121.3 million in the first half of 2024 and a loss of $109 million in the first half of 2023.
According to WeRide's filing, the company plans to use 35% of the IPO proceeds for R&D, 30% for marketing activities to commercialize and operate its autonomous vehicles and expand into new markets, 25% for capital expenditures such as purchasing test vehicles, and the remaining 10% for general corporate purposes.
WeRide isn’t the only Chinese AV company trying its luck in the U.S. market. Its main competitor, Pony.ai, is also said to be preparing for a U.S. IPO after a previous attempt fell through in 2021. Pony had been eyeing a $12 billion listing via a SPAC merger, but held off as it struggled to gain assurances from Beijing that it wouldn’t be targeted in its crackdown on Chinese companies listing on foreign exchanges.
This article has been updated to include WeRide's estimated valuation, the total amount it seeks to raise, and information about the private equity investment. This article was originally published on August 9 at 10:15 a.m. PT.
