Pony.ai

Pony.ai is an autonomous vehicle technology company co-located in Silicon Valley, Beijing and Guangzhou.[2] The company was founded in December 2016 by James Peng and Lou Tiancheng who were formerly developers for Baidu in Silicon Valley.[3][4] In January 2018 Pony.ai completed a $112 million Series A round co-led by Morningside Venture Capital and Legend Capital with seed round lead-investor Sequoia China and investor IDG Capital also participating in the round, alongside Hongtai Capital, Legend Star, Puhua Capital, Polaris Capital, DCM Ventures, Comcast Ventures and Silicon Valley Future Capital.[5]

Pony.ai
TypePrivate
IndustryAutonomous vehicles
Founded2016 (2016)
FounderJames Peng
Lou Tiancheng
Key people
James Peng (CEO)[1]
Websitewww.pony.ai

In April 2019, Pony.ai launched a pilot system covering 50 km2 (19 sq mi) in Guangzhou for employees and invited affiliates, serving pre-defined pick-up points.[6]

In November 2019, the company started a three-month trial in Irvine, California, with 10 cars and defined stops for pick-up and drop-off.[7]

In February 2020, Toyota invested $400 million in the company as part of a funding round of $462 million.[8] Toyota previously announced working with Pony.ai on testing self-driving cars on public roads in Beijing and Shanghai.[9]

In May 2021, California regulators gave Pony.ai permission to test six autonomous vehicles without human safety drivers on specified streets in Fremont, Milpitas and Irvine. The permit restricts operation to roads with speed limits not exceeding 45 miles per hour 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.[10] In June 2021, testing began in Fremont and Milpitas.[11]

See also

References
  1. "Pony.ai CEO Claims Autonomous Cars Coming to Public Roads in 5 Years". FutureCar. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  2. "California has let two Chinese startups offer robotaxis to the public". TechCrunch. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  3. "8 Questions With James Peng of Pony.ai, One of China's Most Valuable Autonomous Vehicle Startups". Time. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  4. "Toyota teams with Pony.ai for driverless road tests in China". Nikkei Asian Review. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  5. "Autonomous Driving Startup Pony.ai Raises $112M". Business Wire. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  6. "Pony.ai tests robo-taxi program on its employees, promises self-driving trucks next". Venture Beat. 19 April 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  7. "Pony.ai to launch BotRide robo-taxi service in Irvine". Venture Beat. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  8. "Autonomous driving startup Pony.ai raises $462 million in Toyota-led funding". Reuters. 26 February 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  9. Hawkins, Andrew J. (2020-02-25). "Toyota steers $400 million to self-driving startup Pony.ai". The Verge. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
  10. "Chinese startup Pony.ai can now test driverless vehicles in three California cities". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  11. "Pony.ai Claims to Be the First Company to Test Driverless Vehicles in Both the U.S. and China". Robotics 24/7. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
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