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Weride, a Chinese autonomous driving company registered with the NASDAQ, said it hopes to see profitability increase within five years, but warned that timing is “hard to predict” due to international government regulations and uncertainty over commercial partnerships.
Weride founder and CEO Tony Han said autonomous driving requires a huge investment and generating returns is a “long process.” Nvidia-backed companies have reported higher losses over the past three years.
“What I hope for over the next five years is that first of all, this company can increase profitability,” Han told the Financial Times. “From a technology perspective, I think we’ll definitely support this in five years, but I think there will be more commercial and policy considerations.”
Han’s comments highlight the difficulty of monetizing unmanned vehicle technology. The Robotaxi business, run by major sector companies, including Chinese internet search group Baidu, local rival Pony.ai, and US Google’s Waymo, have yet to report profits, analysts said.
Based in the city of Guangzhou in southern China, Verid produces a variety of semi-autonomous vehicle technologies, including sophisticated black taxis, curved glass buses, vans and road vacuums. In October, we raised 441.MN through our initial public offering for NASDAQ Exchange and Private Placements in New York.
The company has launched limited robobus services in China, France, Singapore and Switzerland, and is holding self-driving taxi trials in Chinese cities, partnering with Uber to provide Robotaxis in Abu Dhabi. Han said he hopes to expand in other European markets, including Spain and Germany.
When Weride makes a profit, it depends on the pace at which the government regulates unmanned vehicles, its openness to technology, and the rapid pace at which partners can integrate autonomous systems, he said.
In its IPO prospectus, Weride said its losses increased to RMB1.9 billion ($260 million) in 2023, but it is smaller than listed companies offering comparable autonomous driving technology. Annual results released this month showed losses reached RMB2.5 billion in 2024.
Lu Daokuan, an analyst at S&P Global Mobility, said high costs of software, maintenance and research would likely prevent China’s Robotakshi Group from achieving profitability until at least 2028.
He said that dedicated robotaxies are cheaper to produce and offer greater economies of scale compared to self-driving taxis adapted from traditional cars. Weride’s latest model is a dedicated collaboration with Chinese car manufacturer Geely.
“Companies also benefit from cost savings across their supply chain, from ledders to tips,” Lu said. “(But) it’s possible to commercialize it in full swing. If Robotaxis works just like a human driver on the road.”
In February, US Chip Giant Nvidia, a pre-IPO supporter for Weride, revealed that he owns a 0.68% stake in the company. Weride uses Nvidia graphics processor and software.
The company’s so-called Level 4 self-driving buses and taxis are monitored remotely, with screens showing passengers maps of surrounding vehicles and planned routes. Weride’s latest taxis still have traditional minivan interiors, but many of the buses don’t have driver booths or steering wheels.
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Many of the company’s taxis, including those located on certain roads in Abu Dhabi and China, are now run by safe drivers.
This month, the company launched a commercial project to operate unmanned buses on relatively quiet public roads at French valence. It also operates a commercial bus with a safety driver onboard the ship at the Zurich airport.
The project was generally paid by local governments or businesses it owns, he said he was previously a professor at the University of Missouri and chief scientist of Baidu’s unmanned vehicle troops.
He said the operating costs of autonomous driving could ultimately be low enough to allow all public transport. “In today’s world, if you go to the park and drink water, you don’t have to pay,” he said.
