Chinese self-driving tech startup bags a total of $310m in series B round

WeRide, an autonomous vehicle developer based in China, announced that it has raised a total of US$310 million in its series B round after closing its series B2 and B3 rounds. In December 2020, it raised US$200 million in a series B1 round.

The series B round was led by Yutong, a Chinese manufacturer of commercial vehicles, along with new investors CMC Capital Group, CDB Equipment Manufacturing Fund, Hengjian Emerging Industries Fund, Zhuhai Huajin Capital, and Tryin Capital.

Existing investors Qiming Venture Partners, Sinovation Ventures, and Kinzon Capital also participated in the round.

Photo credit: WeRide

Founded in 2017, WeRide focuses on developing level 4 autonomous driving technology. It claims to be the first firm in China to get official permission to test fully driverless cars on open roads.

In November 2019, the company launched its first publicly accessible robotaxi service in Guangzhou and claims to have provided 147,128 rides for 60,000 passengers during its first year of operations. It also partners with Yutong. Together, the duo developed their driverless mini robobus.

Moving forward, WeRide will continue to develop its smart mobility technology, commercialize its mini robobus product, as well as expand its services to more cities this year.

Based in Guangzhou, it has research and development centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Anqing, and Silicon Valley and has over 300 employees.

The size of the global autonomous car market is expected to reach over US$1.3 billion by 2027. Major Chinese players in the space include Pony.ai, which was valued at around US$5.3 billion after it raised US$267 million in new funding in November last year, as well as ride-hailer Didi Chuxing, which closed its SoftBank-led funding round at over US$500 million in May 2020.