Company snapshot
WeRide, the 'Robotaxi first stock' dual-listed on Nasdaq and HKEX, launched fully driverless Robotaxi service in Dubai with Uber on March 31 — the city's first public driverless fleet. Riders summon a car with no safety driver via Uber's 'Autonomous' tab; the first routes cover Jumeirah and Umm Suqeim. WeRide had run public trials since Dec 2025 and won its driverless license in Feb 2026.
Why the world is watching
The day before launch, Uber disclosed a ~5.82% stake in WeRide — real money, not lip service. The pair committed 1,200+ Robotaxis across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh; the Middle East fleet already exceeds 200 vehicles and is operationally profitable. Commercially, 2025 revenue was RMB 680 million (+90%), Q4 +123%, Robotaxi revenue +209.6%; fleet doubled from 1,089 to 2,113. CEO Tony Han targets tens of thousands of vehicles by 2030.
Why it matters: WeRide is the only non-U.S. firm offering fully driverless service on the Uber platform — a scarce seat in the world's second-largest mobility market. Baidu's Apollo Go and Pony.ai are chasing the same Dubai window, but WeRide's first-mover data and rider habits are the moat.
What a delegation experiences
A WeRide visit via China Innovation Visits runs from the Guangzhou R&D center and test base — where delegates see the real tech level of Chinese autonomous driving — to the overseas business layout. The lesson is a repeatable model: policy breakthrough → trial → license → commercialization, completed by WeRide in three years. For hard-tech firms, that 'access-to-profit' overseas path is the takeaway; for mobility players, the Uber partnership shows how global platforms hunt AV tech.
Most AV firms can show you a slide deck. WeRide shows you a car, with no one in the driver's seat, on a real city street.