This article only represents the author's own views.
When driverless vehicle maker WeRide Inc. filed for a Nasdaq IPO last week, it looked potentially big. Bloomberg estimated in March last year such a listing might raise as much as $500 million, making it one of the largest by a Chinese company in New York since the $4.4 billion IPO by ride sharing giant DiDi Global in 2021 that later unraveled.
But much has changed in the last year, including a flood of similar Chinese autonomous driving IPOs into the market. And performance by the handful that have listed has hardly been impressive. That said, the WeRide IPO is notable for its very star-studded cast.