Self-driving startup Pony.ai snaps up $462m from Toyota, others

Pony.ai, a Chinese autonomous driving company, announced that it has raised US$462 million from Toyota Motor Corporation and other investors to deepen and expand their collaboration in mobility services.

The new funding round brings Pony.ai’s valuation to over US$3 billion, according to a statement.

Photo credit: Pony.ai

The investment is an extension of a business partnership that was formed between Pony.ai and Toyota in 2019, which initiated joint autonomous driving pilots in China.

Both companies will further advance their joint efforts in autonomous driving tech development and mobility service deployment. It also plans to more deeply integrate Pony.ai’s autonomous driving system with Toyota’s vehicle platforms and technologies.

Launched in 2016, Pony.ai offers autonomous mobility technologies and services across the US and China.

Since late 2018, it has been testing its robotaxi pilot service, PonyPilot, in Guangzhou, China. Pony.ai claims to be the first company to launch a robotaxi operation and offer self-driving car rides to the general public in China. Last year, it also rolled out a public-facing robotaxi pilot service in California.

The company is backed by IDG Capital, Sequoia Capital, Legend Capital, Morningside Capital, ClearVue Partners, and Eight Roads Ventures. Last year, it secured US$50 million from Kunlun Group Limited.

According to McKinsey & Company, China has the potential to become the world’s largest market for autonomous vehicles. Such vehicles could account for as much as 66% of the passenger-kilometers traveled in 2040, generating market revenue of US$1.1 trillion from mobility services and nearly US$1 trillion from sales of autonomous vehicles.