Autonomous driving startup based in China UsRide announced on Friday that it had raised $440.5 million via an IPO in the United States, alongside a private placement. The company’s American Depository Shares (ADS) have been approved for listing and are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on Friday.

What happened: The IPO price of the 7.7 million ADSs was priced to the public at $15.5, at the lower end of its target range, the company said, bringing the proceeds the IPO at $120 million.

Some investors also agreed to buy $320.5 million worth of the company’s shares through price placements following the IPO, it added, bringing the total amount lifted at $440.5 million.

“The Company could raise aggregate gross proceeds of approximately US$458.5 million through the initial public offering and concurrent private placements, assuming that the initial public offering underwriters fully exercise their option to “purchase of additional ADSs,” the company noted.

Morgan Stanley Asia Ltd., JP Morgan Securities LLC, China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities Limited, ABCI Securities Company Limited, BNP Paribas Securities (Asia) Limited and Tiger Brokers (NZ) Limited are acting as underwriters for the IPO WeRide scholarship.

Why it matters: WeRide, which started its activity in 2017specializes in autonomous driving technologies and tests and operates its products in 30 cities and seven countries in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

For the first half of 2024, WeRide reported revenue of 150.3 million yuan ($20.97 million) and suffered a loss of 881.7 million yuan ($123.03 million), up from a loss of 723.1 million yuan ($100.9 million) reported in the corresponding period last year. .

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Photo courtesy: WeRide