Pony.ai, the Chinese autonomous vehicle startup and relative newcomer to the industry, is now valued at $5.3 billion following a fresh injection of $267 million in funding.
The round was led by TIP, an innovation fund within the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board that focuses on late-stage venture and growth equity investments in companies that deliver disruptive technology. Existing partners Fidelity China Special Situations PLC, 5Y Capital (formerly Morningside Venture Capital), ClearVue Partners and Eight Roads also participated in the round.
The new funds will primarily be used for research and development, according to the company.
Pony.ai has won over investors, OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers during its four-year existence. The company, which operates in China and California, has raised more than $1 billion since its founding, including $400 million from Toyota. Pony has several partnerships or collaborations with automakers and suppliers, including Bosch, Hyundai and Toyota.
Pony bygger det den beskriver som en agnostisk virtuell driver for alle størrelser av kjøretøy, fra små biler til store lastebiler, og for å operere på både ridesharing og logistikk (levering) servicenettverk. Selskapet sa tilbake i 2019 at det jobbet med OEM og leverandører for å bruke sin automatiserte teknologi på markedet for langtransport. Men det er kanskje best kjent for sin innsats rundt robotakser.
The company has launched ridesharing and commuter pilots in Fremont and Irvine, California and Guangzhou, China. Last year, a fleet of electric, autonomous Hyundai Kona crossovers equipped with a self-driving system from Pony.ai and Via’s ride-hailing platform began shuttling customers on public roads. The robotaxi service, called BotRide, wasn’t a driverless service, as there was a human safety driver behind the wheel at all times. The BotRide pilot concluded in January 2020.
Selskapet startet deretter driften av en offentlig robotaxi-tjeneste kalt PonyPilot i Irvine-området. Pony flyttet den robotaxi-tjenesten fra å skyte folk til pakker mens COVID-19-pandemien feide over hele verden. I april kunngjorde Pony.ai at de hadde inngått et samarbeid med e-handelsplattformen Yamibuy for å tilby autonome leveringstimer til kunder i Irvine. Den nye leveringstjenesten ble lansert for å gi ekstra kapasitet til å takle økningen i online bestillinger utløst av COVID-19-pandemien, sa Pony.ai den gangen.
