Waymo and WeRide Raise Funds for Continued Autonomous Vehicle Development

Three companies in the autonomous vehicle space are raising money for their efforts.

Waymo closed an oversubscribed investment round of $5.6 billion, WeRide launched its initial public offering (IPO) and Pony AI filed for an IPO on Nasdaq, according to press releases and report.

Waymo said in a Friday (Oct. 25) press release that its $5.6 billion investment round was led by Alphabet, with continued participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Perry Creek, Silver Lake, Tiger Global and T. Rowe Price.

The company will use the new funding to welcome more riders in Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco, and to continue advancing its AI-powered autonomous driving system, Waymo Driver, according to the release.

Waymo is now providing 100,000 paid weekly trips, up tenfold from last year, per the release.

WeRide announced the pricing of its IPO in a Friday press release, saying its underwriters for the offering include Morgan Stanley Asia Limited, J.P. Morgan Securities, China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities Limited, ABCI Security Company Limited, BNP Paribas Securities (Asia) and Tiger Brokers (NZ).

Seeking Alpha reported Friday that WeRide raised about $440.5 million from the IPO, offering about 7.74 million American depository shares priced between $15.50 and $18.50 apiece.

WeRide operates in about 30 cities in seven countries, according to the report.

Pony AI, which filed for an IPO on Nasdaq, has operations in Silicon Valley, Beijing and Guangzhou and runs a fleet of more than 250 robotaxis, per the Seeking Alpha report.

These reports come about two weeks after Tesla unveiled its Cybercab, an autonomous vehicle that is slated for production by 2027 and is aimed at reshaping urban transportation with its sub-$30,000 price tag and $0.40 per mile operating cost.

The driverless taxi was the centerpiece of a Tesla event that showcased various aspects of the company’s vision for the future.

Weeks earlier, Apple made official the cancellation of its self-driving car, months after announcing that it would do so. The tech giant contacted the California Department of Motor Vehicles to cancel its Autonomous Vehicle Program Manufacturer’s Testing Permit, which had been active until April 30 of next year.