WeRide Drives Into Uber Partnership, As U.S. Listing Plan Idles

Key Takeaways:

• WeRide and Uber have launched a partnership starting in the UAE, which will see Uber app users get the option of ordering rides in WeRide’s robotaxis by year-end
• WeRide halted its $400 million U.S. listing at the 11th hour in August, but could try to relaunch it by year-end after getting new approval from China’s securities regulator

By Doug Young

Its New York IPO may be sidelined for the moment, but that doesn’t mean robotaxi operator WeRide Inc. is just sitting idly on the roadside.

The company suffered an embarrassing setback in August when its IPO, which was set to become one of the largest by a Chinese company in New York in the last three years, was suddenly derailed at the 11th hour. It’s been largely quiet on the matter since then, though it has continued to file updated materials with the U.S. securities regulator, including an updated prospectus filed on Wednesday this week.

But financials aside, the company once again showcased its position as a leader in the autonomous driving space, also on Wednesday, by announcing a new strategic partnership with leading shared ride operator Uber UBER. That partnership looks quite significant, adding not only Uber’s brand to WeRide’s worldwide fleet of robotaxis, but potential to become a major new source of business.

Such tie-ups will be important for WeRide as it tries to generate some serious revenue with the commercialization of its technology. The company generated just 150 million yuan ($21 million) in the first half of this year and 402 million yuan in 2023 – hardly impressive for a company that was worth $5.1 billion at the time of its last fundraising. By comparison, it spent 517 million yuan on R&D in the first six months of this year alone, roughly equal to its revenue for the 18 months to June.

WeRide and Uber called their alliance “a strategic partnership to bring WeRide’s autonomous vehicles onto the Uber platform, beginning in the United Arab Emirates.” They added that the service will launch by the end of this year, and that Uber users will be given the option of choosing a WeRide driverless robotaxi when requesting rides in the UAE.

WeRide currently has autonomous driving permits for its fleet of robotaxis in China, Singapore, the UAE and the U.S., and operates in 30 cities in seven countries across Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Notably, the latest announcement says that Uber and WeRide do not “contemplate any launches in the United States or China.” What’s more, WeRide’s robotaxis are still in the testing phase in the few other markets where it has permits, meaning the Uber partnership will likely be relatively limited for now.

“It’s clear that the future of mobility will be increasingly shared, electric, and autonomous, and we look forward to working with leading (autonomous vehicle) companies like WeRide to help bring the benefits of autonomous technology to cities around the world,” said Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi in announcing the partnership.

The announcement added some positive fuel to WeRide’s story, keeping its name in the headlines after its embarrassing last-minute decision to delay in its U.S. IPO. The company is vying for attention in an increasingly crowded field of Chinese autonomous driving concept stocks, including Hong Kong-listed iMotion (1274.HK) and U.S-listed Hesai HSAI.

In addition, Toyota-backed robotaxi startup Pony.ai and BYD-backed autonomous driving software company Momenta have both been green-lighted by the Chinese securities regulator to make U.S. IPOs. And auto chip designers Horizon Robotics and Black Sesame Technology have applied to list in Hong Kong.

Unclear Road Ahead For IPO

WeRide was green-lighted by China’s securities regulator for a U.S. listing in August last year, fulfilling a mandatory step for all Chinese companies looking to make overseas IPOs. It made its first public filing with the U.S. securities regulator in late July this year, and was set to make its trading debut the week of Aug. 19.

The listing would have raised more than $400 million, including up to $120 million from the sale of 6.5 million American depositary shares (ADS) for between $15.50 and $18.50. WeRide said that global auto parts giant Robert Bosch had indicated an interest in buying about $100 million worth of the IPO shares, equal to 90% or more of the stock being offered. The rest of the fundraising would have come through another $320 million in concurrent private placements, led by a $100 million investment from Alliance Ventures, the venture capital fund of the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi alliance.

Such major commitments were an important signal of confidence in a market where sentiment was relatively weak at the time, showing WeRide would only need to find other investors to buy a very small amount of its stock. That should have been quite easy, considering the listing’s underwriters included the A-list trio of Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and China’s own CICC.

But then the listing date came and went without any trading debut. The company later explained that: “Updating transaction documents is currently taking longer than expected, and WeRide is working to complete the documentation necessary to move forward with the transaction.”

Unfortunately for the company, it failed to complete its listing by Aug. 25, the date its approval from China’s securities regulator expired. In its latest U.S. filing on Wednesday, WeRide acknowledged the expiration of its earlier application and said it has already resubmitted an updated application with the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).

“We would not be able to complete this offering and listing before the CSRC completes its review of our updated filing materials and issues a new filing notice,” it said, without indicating when it thought it might receive a new green light. The approval process is relatively new, launched in March last year, and appears to usually take a few months. But it’s possible WeRide’s new application could get the green light more quickly since it only includes updated information of a previously approved application.

The company was relatively cash rich, with 1.8 billion yuan in its coffers at the end of June. That seems to show it’s not in any imminent danger of running out of funds, and that the rush to list in August was tied to the expiration of its CSRC approval.

The new Uber announcement looks at least partly timed to keep the company’s name in the headlines, hinting at the potential of this future partnership as WeRide tries to sell its story to investors outside its inner circle. Given the current situation, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the CSRC give relatively speedy new approval for the listing, and for WeRide to potentially try to relaunch and complete its IPO by the end of the year.

This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga's reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.