WeRide, a Chinese Level 4 autonomous driving technology developer and smart mobility company, is in talks for a pre-IPO fundraising at a USD 6bn valuation, said three sources familiar with the situation.

The proposed valuation has jumped around 20% from the reported USD 5bn pre-money valuation for its Series D+ round in May last year, marking its highest price level, the sources said.

The driverless technology developer is targeting to raise more than USD 600m in the last private round, the first source said.

The company is keen to bring in European and US car makers or automotive-related companies to build up long-term business relationships, while financial investors are not their priority, the second source said.

It will use the proceeds for research and development (R&D), the sources said.

Last May, WeRide drew an undisclosed amount of investment from Bosch, as announced.

The company raised USD 400m in a financing round at an estimated post-money valuation of USD 4.4bn from Guangzhou Automobile Group [HKG:2238], Bosch, Zhong’A Industrial Investment Fund Management Enterprise and Carlyle, as reported by local media in March 2022.

Its other backers consist of Alliance Ventures, China Structural Reform Fund, Pro Capital, IDG Capital, Homeric Capital, CoStone Capital, Cypress Star, Sky9 Capital, K3 Ventures, CMC Capital Partners, Qiming Venture Partners and Alpview Capital, as per this new service’s database.

WeRide is still reviewing a potential listing in either Hong Kong or the US, two of the sources said.

The company has hired JPMorgan as sponsor to assist with the potential share floatation, all the sources said.

The company had filed for a USD 500m US IPO, according to Bloomberg‘s report in March 2023.

Established in 2017, WeRide aims to develop safe and reliable driverless solutions to make mobility and transportation safer, more affordable and more accessible, according to its website.

The company has entered the commercial stage of operations. It offers an all-rounded product mix of Robotaxi, Robobus, Robovan, Robosweeper and advanced driving solutions, providing smart services in online ride-hailing, on-demand transport, urban logistics as well as environmental services. It also acts as a solutions provider, as per its website.

The company has accumulated autonomous driving miles of over 16m kilometers, with more than 500 driverless vehicles, its website reads.

Its latest valuation was USD 5.1bn, its website stated.

Apart from the Guangzhou head office, it has R&D and operation centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Zhengzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, and Anqing in mainland China, as well as San Francisco in the US, according to its website.

Its US peers include Alphabet’s [NASDAQ:GOOG] Mountain View-based Waymo and San Francisco-based Cruise, while its domestic rivals comprise Guangzhou-based Pony.ai and Beijing-based Baidu [NASDAQ:BIDU], as per the May 2022 report.

WeRide said it was unable to comment on market rumors and speculation at this stage. JPM declined to comment.