Chinese autonomous driving start-up, WeRide, has announced its plans to test self-driving cars in Singapore as it expands its reach into Southeast Asia. The company will be collaborating with Strides, a subsidiary of Singapore’s biggest public transport operator, SMRT, to pilot and test its autonomous vehicles in the country. WeRide established its Singapore branch in September 2022 and signed a memorandum of cooperation with Strides in November of the same year.
WeRide’s office in Singapore will serve as a regional development center for its Asia Pacific operations, according to its founder and CEO, Han Xu. Singaporean investors, SMRT and K3 Ventures, who are both strategic investors in WeRide, will help the company grow in Singapore and other Southeast Asian markets.
The announcement comes as Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong kicked off a six-day visit to China and visited WeRide’s headquarters in Guangzhou.
Founded in Guangzhou in 2017, WeRide has already begun testing and operating driverless vehicles in 25 cities across five countries. The company’s products include Robotaxi, Mini Robobus, Robovan, Robo Street Sweeper, and SAE L2-L4 advanced smart driving solutions. WeRide currently has a fleet of more than 500 self-driving vehicles and has driven over 16 million miles autonomously.
In March 2022, WeRide reportedly closed a new round of financing, raising over $400 million with a post-investment valuation of $4.4 billion. Investors in the round included GAC Group, Bosch, China-Arab Investment Funds, and Carlyle Group. Additionally, WeRide has confidentially filed for an initial public offering in the US, hoping to raise up to $500 million and go public as early as the first half of 2023.
