Pony.ai is an

autonomous vehicle Vehicular automation involves the use of mechatronics, artificial intelligence, and multi-agent systems to assist the operator of a vehicle (car, aircraft, watercraft, or otherwise).Hu, J.; Bhowmick, P.; Lanzon, A.,Group Coordinated Control o ...

technology company co-located in

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, and

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

History

The company was founded in December 2016 by James Peng and Tiancheng Lou who were formerly developers for

Baidu Baidu, Inc. ( ; , meaning "hundred times") is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet-related services and products and artificial intelligence (AI), headquartered in Beijing's Haidian District. It is one of the l ...

in Silicon Valley. In April 2019, Pony.ai launched a pilot system covering in

for employees and invited affiliates, serving pre-defined pick-up points. In November 2019, the company started a three-month trial in

Irvine, California Irvine () is a master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 197 ...

, with 10 cars and defined stops for pick-up and drop-off. In May 2021, California regulator,

California Department of Motor Vehicles The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is the state agency that registers motor vehicles and boats and issues driver licenses in the U.S. state of California. It regulates new car dealers (through the New Motor Vehicle Board), c ...

(DMV), gave Pony.ai permission to test six autonomous vehicles without human safety drivers on specified streets in Fremont,

Milpitas Milpitas (Spanish for "little milpas") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in Silicon Valley. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 80,273. The city's origins lie in Rancho Milpitas, granted to Californio ranchero José Marí ...

and Irvine. The permit restricts operation to roads with speed limits not exceeding in clear weather and light precipitation. Testing was planned to start in Fremont and Milpitas on weekdays between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. In June 2021, testing began in Fremont and Milpitas. On October 28, a Pony.ai vehicle operating in autonomous mode hit a road center divider and a traffic sign in Fremont after turning right. In December 2021, California DMV suspended a driverless testing permit for Pony.ai following this accident. It is the first time for DMV to issue such a suspension. Subsequently, the

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA ) is an agency of the U.S. federal government, part of the Department of Transportation. It describes its mission as "Save lives, prevent injuries, reduce vehicle-related crashes" rel ...

(NHTSA) launched a probe. More than four months after the accident, the NHTSA announced the "first recall of an automated driving system" as the company complied with the government agency’s request. In May 2022, California DMV revoked Pony.ai's permit for failing to monitor the driving records of the safety drivers on its testing permit. In April 2022, Pony.ai became the first autonomous driving company to get a taxi license in China.

Financing

In January 2018 Pony.ai completed a $112 million

Series A round A series A round (also known as series A financing or series A investment) is the name typically given to a company's first significant round of venture capital financing. The name refers to the class of preferred stock sold to investors in exch ...

co-led by

Morningside Venture Capital 5Y Capital () is a Shanghai-based venture capital firm founded in 2008. It was previously known as Morningside Venture Capital before it rebranded in October 2020. Background 5Y Capital was founded in 2008 by Ken Shi and Richard Liu under the ...

and

Legend Capital Legend Holdings Corporation () is a Chinese investment holding company with interests in finance, real estate, and information technology, and the controlling shareholder of its better-known associate company, the Lenovo Group. Formed by the Chin ...

with seed round lead-investor Sequoia China and investor

IDG Capital Founded in Boston in 1992, IDG Capital is an investment and asset management firm that specializes in venture capital, private equity, and mergers & acquisitions. The firm currently has offices in fifteen cities around the world, including New York ...

also participating in the round, alongside Hongtai Capital, Legend Star, Puhua Capital, Polaris Capital,

DCM Ventures DCM (also known as DCM Ventures) is a venture capital firm located in Silicon Valley, Tokyo and Beijing. It has approximately $4.2 billion under management. DCM was the first Silicon Valley firm to invest in the early-stage technology sector in Ch ...

Comcast Ventures Comcast Ventures was a corporate venture capital firm headquartered in San Francisco, California. History In early 2011, Comcast and NBCUniversal combined their two venture arms, Comcast Interactive Capital founded in 1999 and the Peacock Fund, ...

and Silicon Valley Future Capital. In February 2020,

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

invested $400 million in the company as part of a funding round of $462 million. Toyota previously announced working with Pony.ai on testing self-driving cars on public roads in Beijing and Shanghai. The company intended to go public on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...

via a SPAC route but in 2021, suspended its plans due to the China regulators. As of 2020, the company had a valuation of $5.3 billion.

References

External links

* {{Autonomous cars and enabling technologies Self-driving car companies Technology companies established in 2016

History

Financing

See also

References

External links