Qiming Venture Partners' Portfolio Company WeRide Signs Tripartite Agreement with Dubai's RTA and Uber
The three parties will work together to deploy commercial Robotaxi mobility services in Dubai. The service will launch on the Uber platform within this year, with the first batch of Robotaxis operating commercially with safety drivers and conducting driverless testing, with fully driverless commercial operations targeted for Q1 2026.
Recently, Qiming Venture Partners portfolio company WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD) signed a cooperation agreement with the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Uber **Technologies, Inc., the world's largest mobility and delivery technology platform.
The three parties will collaborate to deploy commercial Robotaxi services in Dubai. The service will launch on the Uber platform later this year, with an initial fleet operating commercially with safety drivers while conducting driverless testing, with fully driverless commercial operations targeted for Q1 2026. WeRide and Uber have already begun Robotaxi road testing in Dubai under RTA guidance.
"We are accelerating our international expansion, and the Middle East is a strategic priority for us," said Li Xuan, WeRide's CFO and Head of International Operations. "Last month, we announced with Uber an expansion of our partnership to deploy Robotaxi in 15 additional cities over the next five years, including cities in the Middle East. Now, we have formally signed a cooperation agreement with Uber and the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority to advance the deployment of autonomous vehicles in Dubai. This collaboration aligns closely with the Dubai government's ambitious vision of achieving 25% autonomous transport by 2030, and we are proud to contribute to this goal with our strong technical capabilities and global deployment experience."
"The introduction of autonomous vehicles in Dubai marks a significant step toward intelligent, sustainable future mobility, aligning with our grand vision of making Dubai the world's smartest city," said His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA. "This partnership also strongly supports the implementation of Dubai's Smart Mobility Strategy to achieve 25% autonomous transport by 2030. The signing of this agreement further cements Dubai's leading position globally in adopting advanced, sustainable transportation solutions, fully demonstrating our firm commitment to embracing cutting-edge technologies and driving innovation in mobility."
"At Uber, we are building the future of transportation — one that we believe will be centered on electric, shared, and autonomous mobility," said Frans Hiemstra, General Manager for Uber in the Middle East and Africa. "Today, we are pleased to sign a cooperation agreement with the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority to launch autonomous vehicle operations in Dubai in 2025, with WeRide as our first technology partner. This strategic partnership reflects our commitment to making autonomous technology accessible to users worldwide. We look forward to bringing this mobility experience to Dubai's vast number of passengers later this year."
This agreement formally establishes the partnership between WeRide, Uber, and RTA, and further extends the long-term strategic partnership between WeRide and Uber. In December 2024, WeRide and Uber successfully launched the largest commercial Robotaxi fleet in the Middle East in Abu Dhabi. In May 2025, the two companies announced an expanded strategic partnership to add 15 international cities over the next five years, covering markets in Europe, the Middle East, and other regions.
Notably, in July 2023, WeRide obtained the first national-level, full-vehicle-category autonomous driving license in the UAE — also the first of its kind globally — authorizing the company to conduct road testing and operations of various types of autonomous vehicles on public roads across the entire country. Currently, WeRide is the first and only technology company in the world whose products hold autonomous driving licenses in five countries: China, the UAE, Singapore, France, and the United States.
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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 the Technology and Consumer (T&C) and Healthcare sectors.
To date, Qiming Venture Partners has invested in over 580 high-growth innovative companies, of which more than 210 have gone public on exchanges including the NYSE, NASDAQ, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, Shanghai Stock Exchange, and Shenzhen Stock Exchange, or exited 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 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, and others.