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WeRide’s plan to become the world’s first general-purpose autonomous driving stock has been delayed.

On August 22, there was news that autonomous driving company WeRide postponed its Nasdaq IPO and there was no new timetable. In response, WeRide said in the morning that it took longer than expected to update the transaction documents and that WeRide was actively promoting the various documents required for the transaction.

WeRide was founded in 2017. It is a technology company that holds autonomous driving licenses in China, the United States, Singapore and other places. It is committed to "changing human travel with driverless cars." In July 2024, WeRide submitted an IPO application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and plans to be listed on the Nasdaq.

It is reported that in this IPO in the United States, WeRide will issue 6.45 million American Depositary Shares (ADS), with an issue price of each ADS ranging from US$15.5 to US$18.5. The median net amount of funds raised is approximately US$96 million, which will bring its valuation to US$5.02 billion.

WeRide focuses on providing autonomous driving products and services from L2 to L4, covering multiple industries such as travel, logistics and sanitation. Previously, WeRide was considered a strong candidate for the world's "first general autonomous driving stock". Its prospectus shows that the company's commercial revenue ranks among the top in the world among similar companies.

Looking back at its listing history, the website of the China Securities Regulatory Commission showed in August last year that the China Securities Regulatory Commission confirmed the filing information of WeRide Inc.'s overseas listing. According to WeRide Inc.'s overseas issuance and listing filing notice, the company plans to issue no more than 159 million common shares and list on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq.

On July 27th local time, WeRide officially submitted its prospectus to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), planning to be listed on the Nasdaq in the form of American Depositary Shares (ADS), with the stock code tentatively set as "WRD".

However, just when the market was expecting WeRide to successfully land on Nasdaq, news of the IPO postponement came. In response, the company said that updating transaction documents is a complex and meticulous process, and it takes more time to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the documents. Despite this, WeRide is still actively advancing various preparations and it is expected that the waiting time will not be too long.

It is worth noting that WeRide has not yet achieved profitability. The prospectus shows that from 2021 to 2023, WeRide's revenue will be 138 million yuan, 528 million yuan, and 402 million yuan respectively; the adjusted net losses will be 1.007 billion yuan, 1.298 billion yuan, and 1.982 billion yuan respectively. In the first half of this year, its revenue continued to decline to 150 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 17.8%; the adjusted net loss expanded to 882 million yuan.

WeRide's revenue comes from product revenue and service revenue. The former is the sales of L4 autonomous driving cars and related sensor kits; the latter provides L4 autonomous driving and ADAS services. From 2021 to 2023, WeRide's product revenue will be 102 million yuan, 338 million yuan, and 54 million yuan respectively; service revenue will be 37 million yuan, 190 million yuan, and 348 million yuan respectively.

Since its establishment, WeRide has received multiple rounds of financing, with a total amount of over US$1 billion. Investors include Bosch, NVIDIA, GAC Group, Yutong Group, etc. The company has been favored by capital and its valuation has also risen.

It is worth noting that WeRide is not the only autonomous driving company that plans to go public in the United States recently. Since the beginning of this year, the autonomous driving industry has ushered in a wave of listings, and many related companies have started the listing process and sought financing in the Hong Kong and US stock markets. Behind this trend, there are both the financing needs of the companies themselves and the realistic pressure of investors to exit.

In December last year, Zhixing Automotive Technology went public, becoming the "first autonomous driving stock in Hong Kong". In June this year, Momenta has passed the overseas listing registration procedures and confirmed that it plans to list on Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange and issue no more than 63.3529 million common shares. In July this year, Ruqi Mobility successfully landed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

On August 8 this year, Black Sesame Smart was listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The next day, the China Securities Regulatory Commission announced the registration notice for the overseas issuance and listing of Horizon Robotics. The company plans to issue no more than 1.15 billion overseas listed common shares and list them on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It is also reported that Pony.ai may go public in the United States as early as September this year, and has found institutional investors with clear IPO investment intentions.

Industry insiders pointed out that the rapid development of the autonomous driving industry has attracted a lot of capital attention. However, with the intensification of market competition and the continuous iteration and upgrading of technology, autonomous driving companies are also facing huge challenges. How to achieve technological breakthroughs and commercialization has become a difficult problem facing all autonomous driving companies.

In this context, it has become a trend for autonomous driving companies to go public overseas. By going public, these companies can obtain more financial support and accelerate technological innovation and product development. At the same time, going public can also help enhance the company's brand awareness and market competitiveness, laying a solid foundation for future development.