The China-based startup, WeRide, after 4 months of securing funding of USD 310 million, has raised more funds in its Series C round, thus making the valuation of the company USD 3.3 billion, as announced on May 13, 2021. This is the first time the company has disclosed its value. 

The amount raised in this round is not disclosed by the company but just said that it is in the “hundreds of millions”. The fund secured in this round to invest in R&D and commercialization as it is working towards the next generation of Level 4 driving, which means that a vehicle can drive without humans involved in some environments and conditions. The company also aims to commercialize its technology using the funds. 

Many investors like IDG Capital, Homeric Capital, CorStone Capital, Cypress Star, Sky9 Capital, and K3 Ventures, as well as existing investors CMC Capital Partners, Qiming Venture Partners, and Alpview Capital participated in this round. 

About WeRide

Founded in April 2017 by Tony Han who is also the CEO, and with its headquarters in Guangzhou, China, WeRide is an intelligent travel company with China’s leading L4 autonomous driving technology, committed to providing safe and convenient travel services for the public. 

It has gained a large number of investments in the past year, including USD 200 million in December from Chinese bus maker Yutong. The speed with which it is having such large-scale investments shows that the company is burning through money and is hungry for more, and the investors are now banking on China’s tech.

 WeRide’s robotaxi pilot in Guangzhou began in 2019, but it began conducting test drives in the city’s Central Business District in January. Not long after, the company’s driverless Mini Robobus began road testing in Guangzhou and Nanjing. WeRide became the first autonomous driving company in China to secure an official license for online car-hailing operations in February, and in April, the California DMV issued WeRide a permit to test its driverless vehicles on public roads in San Jose, California.

What does the CEO say?

“WeRide Master Platform (WMP), our core autonomous driving technology solution has helped to accelerate the company’s development,” Tony Han, founder, and CEO of WeRide said in a statement. “This drives the successful operation of our Robotaxi service in Guangzhou since 2019 and the introduction of the WeRide driverless Mini Robobus, a completely new product category to the autonomous industry.”

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