WeRide named to Fortune's Change the World 2026 list, its third time and the only AV company honored
WeRide has been named to Fortune's Change the World 2026 list, the only autonomous driving company honored this year and its third appearance on the list.
- approximately 3,400
- more than 1,800
- US$51.0 million, up 73% year-over-year
- US$34.2 million, up 82% year-over-year
What Happened
WeRide has been named to Fortune's Change the World 2026 list, the only autonomous driving company recognized this year. The annual list honors 50 companies worldwide that create meaningful social impact through their core business strategies, and this year it includes Anthropic, BYD and Alphabet (Google). It is WeRide's third appearance on the list, following recognitions in 2023 and 2025. For Fortune's 12th annual edition, WeRide stood out among approximately 200 companies for delivering measurable social impact, business results and innovation, and was cited specifically for its work on transportation safety.
approximately 3,400
Includes more than 1,800 Robotaxis, deployed across 13 countries and over 60 cities.
- Europe: Spain's first national permit for Level 4 autonomous passenger vehicles, to operate on public roads together with Uber, with commercial operations expected to begin by the end of 2026.
- Europe: Europe's first fully driverless Robotaxi operational permit in Switzerland, with a public passenger service planned in the Furttal region under the Intelligent Automated Mobility (iamo) pilot project alongside Swiss Transit Lab, SBB and the Cantons of Zurich and Aargau.
- Denmark: a partnership with GreenMobility to pursue the country's first commercial autonomous mobility deployment, subject to regulatory approvals, planning public service with the GXR in the first half of 2027.
- Middle East: fully driverless Robotaxi operations in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with service areas expanding to more than 70% of the core urban area in each city.
- China: peak daily orders per vehicle reached 28 and average daily rides per vehicle rose 24% quarter-on-quarter to over 21 in Guangzhou, supporting 24/7 commercial operations across multiple districts.
WeRide and Grab launch Singapore's first autonomous public ride service, in Punggol.
WeRide's Middle East Robotaxi fleet grows to approximately 400 vehicles.
The Singapore service has accumulated over 110,000 kilometres of autonomous mileage and served more than 12,000 unique riders.
Commercial operations are expected to begin in Spain under the national Level 4 permit with Uber.
Public service is planned in Denmark with GreenMobility using the GXR, subject to regulatory approvals.
- US$51.0 million, up 73% year-over-year
- US$34.2 million, up 82% year-over-year
- up 154% year-over-year
WeRide also launched two Physical AI models in 2026: WeRide WITT, its Physical AI cognitive foundation model that helps autonomous systems better understand and learn from complex real-world environments, and WeRide GENESIS, its proprietary general-purpose simulation model. Together, the company says, these models create a Physical AI flywheel to accelerate autonomous driving development and commercialization. In its L2++ and L3 intelligent driving business, WeRide delivered approximately 30,000 units of WRD 3.0, its one-stage end-to-end L2++/L3 solution, during the second quarter of 2026, and secured production design wins for more than 30 vehicle models.
Previously from WeRide Inc.
Earlier in September 2026, WeRide, Uber and AVOMO won Spain's first national permit for Level 4 autonomous passenger vehicles, opening the way to a commercial service in Madrid — the permit today's release confirms is now being put to use. In August 2026, WeRide and Denmark's GreenMobility agreed to deploy Level 4 self-driving shared rides in Denmark in the first half of 2027, pending regulatory approval, marking WeRide's first Nordic market. WeRide's second-quarter 2026 revenue had already climbed 82.2% year over year to RMB231.7 million on overseas robotaxi growth and its new L2++/L3 business, and its WRD 3.0 driver-assistance system moved into mass production aboard GAC AION's 2027 i60 SUV.
- WeRide, Uber and AVOMO win Spain's first national permit for Level 4 autonomous passenger vehicles
- WeRide and GreenMobility Partner to Deploy Level 4 Autonomous Mobility in Denmark, WeRide's Nordic Debut
- WeRide Q2 2026 Revenue Jumps 82.2% as Robotaxi Expansion Accelerates Overseas
- WeRide's WRD 3.0 ADAS Enters Mass Production on GAC AION's 2027 i60 SUV
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of WeRide Inc.'s official releases.
Why this matters
The award frames autonomous driving as a fix for road safety: human error remains a leading cause of road accidents, and aging populations and driver shortages keep pressure on transport systems. WeRide's scale — about 3,400 vehicles across 13 countries — means riders in Asia, Europe and the Middle East can already use its services, while its 73% first-half revenue growth shows the business case is being tested commercially.
Terms in This Story
- Robotaxi
- A self-driving vehicle used to provide commercial passenger ride services.
- Level 4 autonomous driving
- A level of driving automation in which a vehicle can handle the driving task without a human driver within defined operating conditions.
- Physical AI
- Artificial intelligence systems that perceive and act in the physical world, such as robots and autonomous vehicles, rather than only processing text or images.
- Change the World list
- An annual Fortune list honoring companies that create meaningful social impact through their core business strategies.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.