WeRide has 12 active vehicles and will operate in San Jose and nearby areas.

Guangzhou-based Chinese self-driving startup WeRide has received permission from California utility regulator to test driverless cars carrying passengers, according to a Reuters report today.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) granted WeRide a three-year license earlier this month, allowing it to ferry passengers in test vehicles with and without drivers, according to the report.

WeRide will not be allowed to offer rides to the general public or charge any fares, the report said.

WeRide has 12 active vehicles and will operate in San Jose and nearby areas, the report said, citing a statement from the CPUC.

WeRide was founded in 2017, and the company's offerings include robotaxi, mini robobus, robovan, robo street sweeper, and SAE L2-L4's high-level smart driving solutions.

The company is now testing and operating autonomous driving in 30 cities in seven countries, and is the only company to have self-driving test licenses in four countries at the same time -- China, the US, the UAE, and Singapore, according to WeRide's website.

The California license comes at a time when WeRide is planning a US IPO.

WeRide plans to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "WRD," according to a prospectus made public earlier this month.

WeRide plans to raise $440 million in its initial public offering (IPO) as well as in a concurrent private placement, with certain investors having agreed to purchase $320.5 million in class A ordinary share, according to its prospectus.

The company has completed 10 rounds of funding from investors including Nvidia, Bosch, and GAC Group.

WeRide closed its last Series D + round in 2022, when it was valued at $5.1 billion.

The company plans to issue 6,452,000 American depositary shares (ADSs) in its US IPO, with each ADS representing three ordinary shares. Its IPO pricing range is between $15.50 and $18.50 per ADS.

In the first half of this year, WeRide realized revenue of RMB 150 million yuan (($21 million)) and a loss of RMB 881 million.

($1 = RMB 7.1492)

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