Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing giant Grab Holdings Ltd said it will make a strategic equity investment in Chinese autonomous driving firm WeRide Inc as the companies partner to deploy self-driving vehicles across the region.
The investment, expected to close in the first half of 2026 subject to closing conditions, will support WeRide’s expansion of its commercial autonomous vehicle fleet in Southeast Asia, the companies said in a joint statement.
Under the partnership, WeRide will integrate its Level 4 autonomous driving technology into Grab’s fleet management and routing systems to deploy robotaxis and shuttles across Grab’s network in multiple Southeast Asian markets.
“WeRide’s vision for Southeast Asia is to deploy thousands of robotaxis across the region,” said Tony Han, WeRide’s founder and chief executive. The partnership combines WeRide’s autonomous vehicle technology with Grab’s regional expertise to accelerate deployment of self-driving services, he added.
Grab CEO Anthony Tan said autonomous vehicles could help address driver shortages in some cities across the region. “We believe AVs can complement our driver network and be deployed in cities with significant driver shortages,” Tan said.
The collaboration will focus on optimizing dispatch and routing, vehicle maintenance protocols, safety performance monitoring, and remote supervision capabilities.
Both companies also plan to retrain existing Grab drivers for roles in the autonomous vehicle industry.
WeRide, which trades on Nasdaq under the ticker WRD, describes itself as the first publicly traded robotaxi company.
The firm has tested or operated autonomous vehicles in over 30 cities across 10 countries and holds autonomous driving permits in China, Singapore, France, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the United States.
The partnership builds on a memorandum of understanding signed between the companies in March to explore autonomous vehicle deployment in Southeast Asia.
Grab, which went public through a SPAC merger in 2021, operates ride-hailing, food delivery and digital payment services across eight Southeast Asian countries including Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Business News Asia
