The funding takes the company’s total capital raise to more than $600m in the past five months
WeRide is engaged in commercialising its driverless Robotaxi and Mini Robobus. (Credit: WeRide)
Chinese autonomous driving company WeRide has raised $310m funding in a Series C round that valued the company at $3.3bn.
The funding round saw participation from Alliance Ventures, China Structural Reform Fund and Pro Capital.
With the latest funding, WeRide has raised a total of more than $600m capital in the past five months.
Alliance Ventures, the venture capital fund of the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi (RNM) Alliance, had also participated in WeRide’s Series A funding round in 2018.
The investment from Alliance Ventures follows Nissan’s strategy to develop L4 autonomous driving technology for China.
Nissan, a Japanese automobile manufacturer, intends to continue its partnership with WeRide to boost research and development in autonomous driving technologies as well as business development in China.
Nissan COO Ashwani Gupta said: “Nissan has a long history of delivering leading-edge technologies in electrification and autonomous driving. Human-centric technologies are at the heart of our offerings and autonomous driving is a vital part of it.
“As China stands at the forefront of helping define the future of mobility, we are delighted to partner with WeRide to bring even more innovative technologies and services to enrich people’s lives in China.”
WeRide’s other investors include IDG Capital, Yutong Group, a global bus manufacturer, and a group of international institutional investors.
Headquartered in Guangzhou, China, the company is engaged in commercialising its driverless Robotaxi and Mini Robobus.
In November 2019, the first Robotaxi service was launched in Guangzhou, covering an area of 144km². The service was later made available to the public through the ride-hailing mobile app Amap, which has 140 million monthly active users in China.
WeRide claims to have accumulated more than five million kilometres of autonomous driving mileage.
Established in 2017, the company has research and development (R&D) and operation centres in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, Zhengzhou and Anqing, as well as Silicon Valley in the US.
Pro Capital president and CEO Chenhao Xu said: “We believe that the autonomous driving technologies will spearhead the next mobility revolution.
“WeRide has led the L4 autonomous driving industry with its advanced technology, experienced operations, and proven business model.
“We will continue to support WeRide on its journey to advance the technology and its wider application.”