Qiming Venture Partners Portfolio Company WeRide Becomes Only Company with Robotaxi Permits in Six Countries, Secures First Saudi Autonomous Driving License
Securing a Robotaxi autonomous driving license in Saudi Arabia marks a significant milestone in WeRide's global expansion, enabling the company to promote its Robotaxi service locally and unlock new commercial opportunities.
Recently, Qiming Venture Partners portfolio company WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD) announced that its Robotaxi has obtained Saudi Arabia's first autonomous driving permit. This makes WeRide the only technology company in the world whose products hold autonomous driving permits in six countries: Saudi Arabia, China, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, France, and the United States.
WeRide Robotaxi in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
With this permit, WeRide is authorized to operate autonomous driving services in Saudi Arabia and deploy Robotaxi services nationwide. In the initial phase, WeRide will conduct pilot operations in Riyadh in partnership with Uber and local partner AiDriver.
The pilot program launched earlier this month, covering King Khalid International Airport and multiple core areas in Riyadh, including major highways and designated downtown zones. Full commercial Robotaxi operations in Riyadh are expected to launch by year-end 2025 through the Uber-WeRide partnership.
Last week, at Saudi Arabia's inaugural Robotaxi pilot launch event, WeRide Robotaxi officially received its autonomous driving permit. H.E. Eng. Saleh Al-Jasser, Saudi Minister of Transport and Logistics Services, and WeRide CFO and International Lead Xuan Li were among the attendees.
WeRide is the first autonomous driving technology company whose Robotaxi passed the regulatory sandbox of Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Transport (TGA). (Note: A regulatory sandbox refers to a secure testing environment provided by regulators where companies can experiment with and validate new products, services, business models, or delivery mechanisms within a defined regulatory framework.) Obtaining a Robotaxi autonomous driving permit requires rigorous review by multiple government agencies, encompassing testing, evaluation, and technical verification to ensure that Robotaxi safety and performance meet the highest standards.
"Securing the Robotaxi autonomous driving permit in Saudi Arabia marks significant progress in WeRide's global expansion, enabling us to promote Robotaxi services locally and unlock new commercial opportunities," said Xuan Li, WeRide CFO and International Lead. "This will drive large-scale deployment of WeRide Robotaxi, open new revenue streams, and further demonstrate our commitment to making autonomous mobility a reality worldwide. We sincerely thank the General Authority for Transport for supporting our vision of building safer, smarter transportation at scale."
This permit follows WeRide's announcement in May that it was entering the Saudi market. Beyond the Robotaxi program, WeRide has deployed Robobuses across multiple areas in Saudi Arabia, including King Fahd Medical City, Aramco Residential Camp, AlUla, and The Ritz-Carlton Riyadh. Additionally, WeRide's autonomous street sweeper S1 has been deployed at King Fahd Medical City and Riyadh Second Health Cluster, becoming the first commercially operated autonomous sanitation project in Saudi Arabia and the broader Middle East.
Over the past several months, WeRide has continued to accelerate its presence in other parts of the Middle East beyond Saudi Arabia. The company is currently conducting the Middle East's first fully unmanned Robotaxi testing in Abu Dhabi and will soon expand Robotaxi services to Dubai.
PAST HIGHLIGHTS
Founded in 2006, Qiming Venture Partners currently manages 11 USD funds and 7 RMB funds, with total assets under management of $9.5 billion. Since its inception, the firm has focused on investing in outstanding early- and growth-stage companies in the Technology and Healthcare sectors.
To date, Qiming Venture Partners has invested in over 580 high-growth innovative companies, of which more than 210 have listed on the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, Shanghai Stock Exchange, and Shenzhen Stock Exchange, or exited through mergers and acquisitions. Over 80 portfolio companies have become recognized unicorns or super-unicorns.
Many Qiming Venture Partners portfolio companies have grown into the most influential companies 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), Genor Biopharma (688520.SH), Yuanxin Technology, Insilico Medicine, MediLink Therapeutics, LaNova Medicines, Zhipu AI, StepFun, Biren Technology, among others.