(Yicai) July 30 -- WeRide, a Chinese developer of autonomous driving technologies, has filed for an initial public offering in the United States.

Morgan Stanley Asia, J.P. Morgan Securities, and China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities are the underwriters, according to WeRide's filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on July 26. The firm did not disclose how much it plans to raise from the listing.

Formed in 2017, the Guangzhou-based company was valued at around USD5.1 billion in November 2022 and its investors include GAC Asset Capital, Bosch, Yutong, and Nvidia.

In addition to its hardware and software solutions for self-driving vehicles, WeRide also makes driverless vehicles including taxis, buses, vans, and street sweepers. It has testing and commercial operations in 30 cities in seven countries and holds self-driving licenses in China, the US, the United Arab Emirates, and Singapore.

Other Chinese self-driving tech startups, including Pony.ai and Momenta, are also preparing to go public in the US.

The proceeds of WeRide’s listing will be used mainly for research and development, commercialization and operation of self-driving vehicle fleets, marketing, and capital expenditure, including buying test vehicles, R&D facilities, and covering administrative expenses for general corporate purposes.

WeRide's net loss widened 22 percent to CNY881.7 million (USD121.4 million) in the six months ended June 30 from a year ago, while revenue fell 18 percent to CNY150.3 million, the filing showed. It lost CNY1.9 billion (USD268.2 million) on revenue of CNY401.8 million last year, CNY1.3 billion on CNY527.5 million of income in 2022, and CNY1 billion on revenue of CNY138.2 million in 2021.

R&D expenses totaled CNY1.1 billion in 2023, CNY758.6 million in 2022, and CNY443.2 million in 2021.

WeRide's robotaxi service, accessible through the WeRide Go app, is its main shared mobility platform, while it also collaborates with other platforms to expand its market reach. The firm began offering paid robotaxi services to the public in November 2019, completing 1,700 days of commercial operation on open roads in China and the Middle East with zero accidents.

WeRide plans to commence commercial production of robotaxis this year and be ready for large-scale commercialization next year.

WeRide works with Yutong and Golden Dragon on buses, and has received intent orders for around 2,000 units. It has also secured over 10,000 intent orders for its vans, while its road sweeper, the WeRide S6, is the world's first such purpose-built vehicle. It been in commercial production since early 2022 and is being tested in nine cities. The firm’s ADAS solution has been integrated into some Chery Automobile models via a partnership with Bosch as a supplier. 

Editor: Martin Kadiev