BEIJING, CHINA – JULY 11: People photograph WeRide Robobus, a fully driverless shuttle with SAE Level 4 autonomous driving capabilities, at the Beijing High-Level Autonomous Driving Demonstration Zone on July 11, 2024 in Beijing, China . (Photo by Jia Tianyong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)
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Self-driving technology company WeRide is accelerating its global expansion as the artificial intelligence boom drives the application of machine learning in transportation.
“…Logistics distribution and waste transportation – these two fields have been moving forward, from indoor robots to outdoor robots to outdoor autonomous robots. Due to the development of artificial intelligence, the current development is relatively fast.” Sebastian, Director, Singapore Yee said.
June, company Start security testing Following the launch of similar “Robosweepers” in many cities in China, Singapore also launched “Robosweepers”.
After passing safety tests, the vehicles will drive fully autonomously without a safety driver. These artificial intelligence vehicles can perform various sanitation tasks such as road cleaning, water spraying and disinfection, as well as detect road conditions and avoid pedestrians and obstacles.
In the same month, Wenyuan Zhixing returned Deployment of automated public shuttle services There was a safety driver on board at Resorts World Sentosa, a resort island south of Singapore.
The company was founded in Silicon Valley in 2017, launched its Robotaxi service in Guangzhou, China in 2019, and received strategic investments from global automakers. Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance and GAC Group.
The company has developed and tested a range of self-driving technologies, the most advanced of which involve vehicles that drive themselves but still have a safety driver as a precaution.
“WeRide is the only company that has (unmanned driving) licenses from the United States, China, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore. Some (companies) only have licenses from one or two countries, but we have licenses from four countries,” said Kerry Xu, general manager of WeRide Singapore.
“We are not just a Chinese company, we are an international company. We have actually started to expand into other countries,” Xu said.
WeRide is currently targeting other markets such as Japan and Europe.
“We are going to Europe. Two months ago, we actually participated in the French Open. We deployed a vehicle. So slowly, we will expand the business. I think this is the first step,” Yi said.
WeRide Zhixing files for initial public offering on Friday listed on Nasdaq but did not disclose the total amount of funds it plans to raise. This could be the largest U.S. listing by a Chinese company since Didi’s 2021 IPO.
WeRide, which is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday that the company may face “various legal and regulatory issues related to being headquartered in or principally conducting business in mainland China.” operational risks and uncertainties”. WeRide declined to comment on the IPO.
“Business Awareness”
Yee said WeRide decided to enter Singapore and the United Arab Emirates because the two countries are hubs in Southeast Asia and the Middle East respectively and are “very open” to autonomous vehicle technology.
“We need to have a government and an established ecosystem,” Yu said, adding that the market must have a certain level of regulation.
Countries also need to have “understanding of the development of artificial intelligence” and “commercial awareness.”
“Some countries may not have that level of business, but they have a vision of what they want to build. If you don’t have that vision, there’s no point.”
Singapore has been conducting self-driving car trials over the past few years, with A*STAR’s self-driving car being First approved for public road testing July 2015. Try a self-driving bus Starting this quarter, workers will be transported around restricted areas as part of an effort to increase productivity.
The development of autonomous driving technology can help countries with aging populations such as Japan and Singapore overcome labor constraints. One of Singapore’s goals is to promote public transportation through the use of self-driving cars to alleviate road pressure from a growing and aging population.
Although American giants like Tesla and letterIts subsidiary Waymo has made significant progress in the AV industry, and Chinese automakers have been leading the way in innovation and production.
In the latest move to boost adoption, the Chinese government in June Approval The first nine domestic automakers, including BYD and Nioh Start testing conditional self-driving technology on some public roads.
Tesla CEO Musk hopes to obtain regulatory approval for the company’s fully autonomous driving technology in China by the end of this year.
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