Preview of US stocks | Loss of 5.1 billion yuan in three and a half years, will self-driving unicorn Pony.ai go to the US for "replenishment"?

54% IPOThe above statement means that self-driving technology is still in its early stages of commercialization. This also means that, despite the advancements made by Wen Far Technologies in the field of autonomous driving, the question of "when will it become profitable" remains a difficult unknown.According to Zhuo Shi Consulting, in the next ten years, L4 and above autonomous driving technology will be commercialized through self-driving taxis, autonomous buses, intra-city and inter-city logistics vehicles of Siasun Robot & Automation, Siasun Robot & Automation vehicles, other industrial and urban service vehicles, and other passenger vehicles. By 2030, the commercialization of L4 and above autonomous driving use cases is expected to reach $1.535 trillion globally, with a compound annual growth rate of 151% from 2022 to 2030. (Image source: Wenzhi Tech IPO prospectus) Although the autonomous driving industry is still in its early stages of commercialization, companies in the industry are flocking to pursue core competitiveness due to the broad prospects of the industry. Wenzhi Tech is aware of this trend and has invested heavily in the development of new products and technologies, and plans to continue to invest heavily in the development of new technologies, tools, features, products, and services, leading to increasing losses for the company. According to the IPO prospectus, the company's R&D expenditures in the first half of 2021 to 2024 were 443.2 million yuan and 758.6 million yuan, accounting for 320.7%, 143.8%, and 285.5% of total revenue that year respectively, totaling 27.78 billion yuan over three and a half years, accounting for 54% of the losses. The company also warns of risks, stating that it is currently and expected to continue to invest heavily in the future to develop new products and technologies. If the company's development budget is not used for innovative and commercially successful technology, the company may not achieve the expected return on investment. As is well known, autonomous driving technology is an emerging technology that currently faces numerous technical and business challenges, including expected driving performance being better than human-powered, high capital requirements, long vehicle development turnover time, professional skills and specialized knowledge requirements for personnel, inconsistent and constantly changing regulatory frameworks, the need to establish public trust and brand image, and the practical operation of a completely new technology. This also prompts Wenzhi Tech's current commercialization path to be filled with many "mists", such as the company's technology may not perform as expected, or the time required for commercialization may be longer than currently estimated. In conclusion, it is evident that just as Wenzhi Tech's path to commercialization is challenging, the company's IPO journey is also full of challenges and opportunities. On the one hand, a three and a half-year loss of 5.1 billion yuan, the mystery of when true commercialization will occur, and other uncertainties may cause investors to lose confidence. On the other hand, the company's presence in 30 cities in 7 countries globally and its achievements in several "firsts" in the field of autonomous driving further add weight to its valuation. In comparison, whether the company can shine in the secondary market remains to be further verified.