According to informed sources, Chinese self-driving technology start-up WeRide has submitted an IPO prospectus to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Zhittong Finance learned from informed sources that Chinese self-driving technology start-up WeRide (WRD.US) has submitted an IPO prospectus to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), seeking to list on NASDAQ with plans to raise up to $400 million. The company plans to raise about $100 million and raise about $200 million to $300 million in placement. Sources said that WeRide may be able to carry out its initial stock offering as early as next week. Sources said that discussions are still ongoing and details such as IPO size, timing and structure may change.
According to documents submitted to the SEC, Alliance Ventures, the venture capital fund owned by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, has agreed to purchase shares of WeRide worth about $97 million. Documents show that Alliance Ventures, which participated in WeRide's financing rounds in 2018 and 2021, is one of the existing shareholders who purchased stocks at IPO prices.
Public information shows that WeRide was founded in 2017 to develop self-driving technology and has conducted research, testing and operations in 30 cities across 7 countries worldwide. Documents show that the company's fleet of self-driving taxis uses vehicles purchased from Nissan.
It is reported that Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and China International Capital Corporation are leading WeRide's IPO. WeRide has completed 10 rounds of financing, with investors including He Xiaopeng, Guangzhou Automobile Group, Nvidia, Bosch, IDG Capital, Qiming Venture Partners and Matrix Partners China, and has raised over $1.09 billion in total public financing. It completed the last round of D+ financing in 2022 and has a valuation of $5.1 billion.