Alliance Ventures, the strategic venture capital arm of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, has become the lead strategic investor of Chinese self-driving tech start-up WeRide.ai, following completion of the company’s Series A funding.

The investment in WeRide.ai marks Alliance Ventures’ first in ChinaRid

The business specialises in Level 4 autonomous driving and will use the funding to deploy a fleet of 500 autonomous vehicles in 2019 and conduct operation and commercialisation trials in Guangzhou and Anqing with key partners. As well as funding, the business will benefit from strategic cooperation with Alliance Ventures.

The deal marks Alliance Ventures’ first investment in China and forms part of its strategy to support entrepreneurs and start-ups at the cutting edge of next-generation automotive technology.

François Dossa, Alliance global vice president, ventures and open innovation, said: “Autonomous systems are a key priority of the Alliance as we develop new mobility services. Our member companies are committed to introducing such technologies in key markets such as China, so we are delighted to be supporting WeRide.ai as it pioneers such full autonomous systems for the demanding Chinese market-place.”

Tony Han, CEO and co-founder of WeRide.ai, added: “We truly believe the next stage of autonomous transportation revolution 2.0 has arrived. WeRide.ai will continue leading the technology revolution and provide relevant and meaningful benefits to everyone.”