Qiming Venture Partners portfolio company WeRide enters Saudi market with three products deployed
As its first step into the Saudi market, WeRide has tested and deployed autonomous driving products including Robotaxi, Robobus, and Robosweeper in key Saudi cities such as Riyadh and AlUla, laying the groundwork for J&T Global Express's subsequent large-scale commercial operations across the entire Kingdom.
WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD), a Qiming Venture Partners portfolio company, recently announced its market expansion strategy for Saudi Arabia, marking a further step in the company's global commercial footprint. As its first move into the Saudi market, WeRide has begun testing and deploying autonomous driving products including Robotaxi, Robobus, and Robosweeper in key cities such as Riyadh and AlUla, laying the groundwork for subsequent large-scale commercial operations across the kingdom.
WeRide autonomous Robotaxi in Riyadh
With the endorsement and support of Saudi Arabia's General Transport Authority (TGA), WeRide has completed extensive preparatory work in the kingdom and will launch Robotaxi trial operations on the Uber platform in the coming months, with full commercial Robotaxi services planned for 2025. By introducing innovative mobility solutions powered by autonomous driving technology, WeRide will help enhance road safety and optimize transportation management across multiple Saudi cities, providing strong support for the kingdom's "Vision 2030" and advancing the development of intelligent, sustainable urban clusters.
WeRide autonomous Robobus in AlUla
Meanwhile, WeRide has already begun testing and deploying its autonomous Robobus in multiple key areas across Saudi Arabia, including King Fahad Medical City, Aramco residential communities, AlUla, and The Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh, creating seamless shuttle connections between industrial parks, tourist attractions, and new urban developments. Powered by L4 autonomous driving technology, WeRide's Robobus performs reliably even in the region's extreme heat, serving areas that conventional transportation struggles to reach or cover directly, and complementing the newly opened Riyadh Metro to enhance overall mobility and solve the "last few kilometers" problem.
WeRide autonomous Robobus at King Fahad Medical City
The rapid advancement of these projects is closely tied to Saudi Arabia's position as the largest economy in the Middle East and its accelerated diversification efforts under "Vision 2030." In 2023, Saudi GDP reached $1.09 trillion, and the tourism market is experiencing rapid growth, projected to hit $110.1 billion by 2033 with a compound annual growth rate of 8.4% between 2024 and 2033. Against this backdrop, WeRide's Robotaxi and Robobus will help Saudi Arabia build smarter, more sustainable transportation infrastructure, improving mobility for local residents while providing convenient, efficient transport services for the growing number of international visitors.
WeRide autonomous Robosweeper S1 at King Fahad Medical City
Currently, WeRide's autonomous Robosweeper S1 is already in operation at King Fahad Medical City, part of Riyadh's Second Health Cluster — the first commercial unmanned sanitation project in Saudi Arabia and the broader Middle East. As the largest medical complex in the Middle East, King Fahad Medical City spans 500,000 square meters, encompassing four hospitals and 107 primary healthcare centers across medical, residential, commercial, and logistics zones, with extremely high daily foot and vehicle traffic. The facility's architecture is also notably complex, with interconnected corridors and courtyards throughout. Equipped with an L4 autonomous driving system, the Robosweeper handles these dense, complex environments with ease, providing stable and reliable unmanned cleaning services for the medical city.
WeRide autonomous Robosweeper S1 supports fully unmanned sanitation operations
WeRide has continued to deepen its presence in the Middle East market, achieving successive milestones. Its expansion into Saudi Arabia now marks a further deepening of its global layout. On May 16, WeRide announced the launch of fully unmanned Robotaxi testing in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, creating the Middle East's first fully unmanned Robotaxi fleet. At the same time, WeRide expanded its Robotaxi service coverage in Abu Dhabi to include high-demand areas such as Al Maryah Island and Al Reem Island.
In early May 2025, WeRide and Uber jointly announced an expanded strategic partnership, planning to add 15 international cities for Robotaxi deployment over the next five years, including markets in Europe and the Middle East. The two parties launched commercial Robotaxi autonomous mobility services in Abu Dhabi in December 2024 — the largest commercially operating Robotaxi fleet outside the United States and China. In April 2025, the WeRide-Uber partnership expanded to Dubai, opening the second city in the Middle East. WeRide Robotaxi is set to go live on the Uber platform in Dubai, ushering in a new chapter for smart mobility in the region.
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Qiming Weekly | Qiming Venture Partners Portfolio Company Funding and Updates Vol. 18, 2025
Qiming Venture Partners was founded in 2006. The firm currently manages 11 USD funds and 7 RMB funds, with total assets under management reaching $9.5 billion. Since its inception, Qiming has focused on investing in outstanding early and growth-stage companies in the Technology and Consumer (T&C) and Healthcare sectors.
To date, Qiming Venture Partners has invested in over 580 high-growth innovative enterprises, of which more than 210 have gone public on the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, Shanghai Stock Exchange, and Shenzhen Stock Exchange, or exited through M&A and other means. More than 80 portfolio companies have become recognized unicorns or super-unicorns.
Many Qiming 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), 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, ClinChoice, Belief BioMed, Biren Technology, and others.