Qiming Venture Partners' Portfolio Company WeRide Kicks Off 24/7 Stress Testing in Beijing
WeRide is among the first autonomous driving companies approved to conduct nighttime road tests in Beijing, marking a critical step toward building a "7×24" autonomous driving service network in the city and laying a solid foundation for truly round-the-clock autonomous mobility services.
Qiming Venture Partners portfolio company WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD) recently announced that it has received approval to conduct autonomous ride-hailing vehicle tests on public roads during nighttime hours (10 p.m. to 7 a.m.) within Beijing's High-Level Autonomous Driving Demonstration Zone. WeRide is among the first autonomous driving companies authorized to conduct nighttime road tests in Beijing, marking a critical step toward building a "7×24" autonomous mobility service network in the city and laying solid groundwork for truly round-the-clock autonomous transportation.
The launch of these nighttime tests not only validates WeRide's technical architecture and safety systems, but also helps fill the "service vacuum" in public transit during late night and early morning hours, addressing dispatch challenges at冷门时段、偏远区域上车点的调度难题.
Nighttime road conditions are complex. Insufficient lighting and increased interference, compounded by Beijing's rainy summers and snowy winters, place greater demands on autonomous driving systems' perception, decision-making, and control capabilities. Ensuring effective LiDAR-camera fusion perception under low illumination, and accurately identifying nighttime pedestrians and vehicles for rapid response, became the "hardcore challenges" WeRide's engineering team had to crack.
To address poor nighttime visibility, WeRide's autonomous ride-hailing vehicles are equipped with approximately 20 sensors throughout the vehicle, including high-precision, high-dynamic-range cameras and high-channel-count LiDAR, combined with proprietary multi-sensor fusion algorithms and a self-developed HPC high-performance computing platform, enabling blind-spot-free 360-degree perception at distances up to 200 meters. Even under complex lighting or severe weather, the vehicles maintain stable perception and rapid decision-making, ensuring continuous safe operation in nighttime environments.
Rain, dust, and heavy snow also challenge operational stability. WeRide not only uses automotive-grade sensors and rigorous assembly processes, but has also developed an intelligent sensor cleaning system that automatically detects stains and water mist to trigger cleaning, effectively ensuring the perception system remains highly efficient across diverse complex environments.
Technology is merely the entry ticket; stable operations are the real currency. As a global leader in autonomous ride-hailing services, WeRide has pioneered Robotaxi testing or operations across 10 cities in 4 countries, with over 2,200 days of safe operation. In May 2025, WeRide launched China's first 7×24 autonomous ride-hailing service network covering a super-tier-one city in Guangzhou, accumulating extensive cross-day, multi-shift, full-scenario operational experience that fully demonstrates the technical reliability and operational stability of WeRide's autonomous mobility service network in high-challenge environments.
Going forward, WeRide will continue to leverage its fully self-developed autonomous driving technology stack and comprehensive safety management system to steadily expand the operational scope of its autonomous ride-hailing fleet, contributing to more efficient and sustainable urban intelligent transportation systems, and truly delivering on its vision of "Efficient Service, Within Reach."
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Founded in 2006, Qiming Venture Partners currently manages 11 USD funds and 7 RMB funds, with total assets under management reaching $9.5 billion. Since its inception, the firm has focused on investing in outstanding early and growth-stage companies in Technology and Healthcare.
To date, Qiming Venture Partners has invested in over 580 high-growth innovative enterprises, with more than 210 exiting through listings on the NYSE, NASDAQ, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, Shanghai Stock Exchange, and Shenzhen Stock Exchange, or through M&A. Over 80 portfolio companies have become recognized unicorns or super-unicorns.
Many Qiming Venture Partners portfolio companies have grown into the most influential players in their respective fields, including Xiaomi (01810.HK), Meituan (03690.HK), Bilibili (NASDAQ: BILI, 09626.HK), Zhihu (NYSE: ZH, 02390.HK), Roborock (688169.SH), UBTECH (09880.HK), WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD), Insta360 (688775.SH), Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals (603087.SH), Tigermed (300347.SZ, 03347.HK), Zai Lab (NASDAQ: ZLAB, 09688.HK), CanSino Biologics (688185.SH, 06185.HK), Schrödinger (NASDAQ: SDGR), MicroPort EP MedTech (688617.SH), Sanyou Medical (688085.SH), Amoy Diagnostics (300685.SZ), Berry Genomics (000710.SZ), GenScript ProBio (688520.SH), Yuanxin Technology, Insilico Medicine, MediLink Therapeutics, LaNova Medicines, Zhipu AI, StepFun, Biren Technology, and others.