Today In Payments Around The World: WeRide Lands $310M; Dingdong Aims For $6B Valuation

In today’s top payments news around the world, WeRide has notched a $310 million infusion of capital from investors, while Dingdong has its sights set of a $6 billion valuation when it goes public in the United States. Plus, Amazon Payment Services has launched a FinTech lab.

China’s WeRide Raises $310M At $3.3B Valuation From Nissan, Others

WeRide, China’s self-driving vehicle upstart, landed a $310 million investment from backers. The firm has notched more than $600 million over the last five months. It is aiming for the car industry’s level 4 autonomous standard. To date, WeRide has accumulated in excess of 5 million kilometers (3.1 million miles) of autonomous driving. “Being the first of its kind, the fleet has been providing a safe autonomous driving service to the public for over 18 months thus far,” Founder and CEO Tony Han said in a Medium post.

Grocery Delivery Company Dingdong Pegs IPO Valuation At $6B

Chinese grocery company Dingdong is aiming to obtain a valuation of $6 billion for its planned U.S. public market debut. The SoftBank Vision Fund II-backed company delivers supermarket items primarily in large Chinese cities like Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai. Dingdong was co-founded by Jorn van Dijk, Leonard van Driel and Onno Faber back in 2017. Dingdong is looking to list on the NYSE. Beyond Dingdong, other Asian upstarts are aiming to go public in the United States such as Chinese delivery startup MissFresh.

Amazon Rolls Out Dubai-Based FinTech Lab

Amazon Payment Services, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region-based payment processing service, has rolled out a new financial technology lab. “We welcome Amazon Payment Services’ first fintech lab in the world at the Innovation Hub in DIFC. By choosing DIFC, Amazon has the ideal platform to grow given they are now part of the Middle East, Africa and South Asia’s largest and comprehensive financial, technology and innovation ecosystem,” Arif Amiri, CEO of DIFC Authority said, as previously reported.