Uber may back founder’s bid to buy Pony AI’s US unit

Uber Technologies Inc. is reportedly in early talks to help its founder, Travis Kalanick, acquire the US arm of Chinese self-driving firm Pony AI Inc.

If the deal moves forward, Kalanick would manage Pony AI while continuing to lead his current company, CloudKitchens.

Financial details have not been disclosed.

Uber declined to comment, and representatives for Pony AI, Kalanick, and CloudKitchens did not respond.

Uber’s stock rose by up to 3.8% following the report, while Pony AI’s American depositary receipts jumped 21%.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Kalanick’s return reflects a full circle in Uber’s autonomous vehicle strategy

This potential deal represents a dramatic shift from Kalanick’s tumultuous 2017 departure when investors forced him out amid scandals that included Uber’s aggressive autonomous vehicle development approach 1.

During Kalanick’s tenure, Uber pursued in-house self-driving technology, but after his exit, the company pivoted to a partnership-focused strategy that now includes collaborations with over a dozen autonomous vehicle companies 2.

The possible reunification through this Pony AI deal comes after Uber has established partnerships with multiple AV companies in 2025, including WeRide, May Mobility, and Pony.ai itself 3.

This evolution shows how both parties have shifted their approaches, with Kalanick moving from building internal technology to acquiring established players, and Uber transitioning from rejecting Kalanick’s leadership to potentially backing his autonomous ambitions.

By 2025, Uber has clearly moved away from its original ambition to develop proprietary self-driving technology and instead positioned itself as the commercial platform connecting various AV technologies to consumers.

2️⃣ Platform economics driving autonomous vehicle strategy shift

Uber’s transition from technology developer to orchestrator of autonomous fleets represents a fundamental shift in how ridesharing companies approach the autonomous future 4.

The company faced significant challenges in its early AV development, with reports in 2017 showing its self-driving cars required human intervention at rates approximately 5,000 times worse than Waymo’s vehicles 5.