The first ever publicly listed company focused exclusively on autonomous vehicle technology has debuted on the Nasdaq. And they’re aiming to be a dominant force in the future of transportation.

‍What’s happening:‍

• WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD) has successfully raised approximately $440M USD through their IPO and has begun trading on the Nasdaq
  

Why it matters:‍

• WeRide is the first ever IPO for an autonomous driving technology company onto a major stock exchange in the United States
  
• Autonomous driving technology has become a much larger focus for large companies such as Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) and Uber (NASDAQ: UBER) recently, sparking a surge in excitement in the public markets over the future opportunity in fully self driving vehicles
  

By the numbers:‍

• WeRide’s autonomous vehicles are currently operating in 30 cities across 7 different countries
  

Going deeper:‍

• WeRide has developed multiple different types of vehicles, from small autonomous buses to delivery vans to taxis
  
• WeRide holds driverless permits in the United Arab Emirates, China, Singapore and the United States of America
  

The intrigue:‍

• Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) has also been placing strategic bets on the future of self driving technology, previously investing in the Series B financing round of Canadian commercial vehicle startup Waabi

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