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Published on
October 17, 2024
8 min read
Autonomous Vehicle Startup, Pony.ai Announces Plans to File for US IPO
Self-driving startup Pony.ai has announced plans to go public in the US through an initial public offering. Yahoo Finance reported that the filing of the Pony.ai US IPO could happen as soon as this week, although the timeline may change.
Sources close to Pony.ai said that the self-driving startup’s IPO is seeking to raise about $300 million. However, this target could change.
US and China Operations
Pony.ai was founded in 2016 in Silicon Valley. The startup manufactures and operates fleets of autonomous vehicles in China and the US.
Pony.ai’s vehicles include robotaxis and trucks. The company got a permit to provide fare-charging, fully automated taxi services in China’s Guangzhou city in December 2023. Pony.ai has established research and development centers in Silicon Valley in the US and in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai in China.
This isn’t the first Pony.ai IPO attempt to sell shares in the US. In 2021, the self-driving company had considered launching an IPO but retracted the plans. The startup had filed to go public with the China Securities Regulatory Commission. In October 2023, Pony.ai was valued at $8.5 billion.
Chinese leading car manufacturer, Guangzhou Automobile Company is considering making an investment in the company through the Pony.ai US IPO. The automaker has invested in another autonomous vehicle, WeRide, which has partnered with Uber to introduce Robotaxis in the UAE.
Pony.ai Investors
self-driving startup, Pony.ai has previously attracted funding from various investors including Neom Co. and Toyota Motor Corporation. Since 2020, Pony.ai has received $400 million from Toyota and $100 million from Neom. In August 2023, the company received $139 million from Guangzhou Automobile Company to manufacture robocars.
The business relationship between Pony.ai and Guangzhou Automobile Company dates back to 2018. On October 10, 2024, Guangzhou Automobile Company made public its plans to support the Pony.ai stock launch. The company said it will invest $27 million in the self-driving startup.
This move, the company said, was aimed at deepening collaboration between the two companies and promoting autonomous driving.
This investment is the latest move the Chinese car manufacturer has taken to boost its self-driving capacity in an attempt to catch up with Tesla. The US automaker launched its Robotaxi and Robovan on October 11, 2024, and said it plans to produce its cybercab in 2026.
US-China Relations
Pony.ai plans to file its IPO at a time when there are heightened tensions between the US and China. The US government is already working on tightening regulation of Chinese-made electric vehicles.
In June 2024, a new bill seeking to ban Chinese EVs in the US was introduced. The Biden administration has also increased import duty on Chinese-made EVs by 75%. It remains to be seen how these frosty relations will shape Pony.ai’s IPO.
GAC last week approved a $27 million investment by one of its units in Pony.ai, saying it would deepen collaboration and promote its development of autonomous driving.
Pony.ai’s backers include Toyota Motor Corp. and Saudi Arabia’s Neom Co. China’s securities regulator approved the New York IPO in April as Beijing loosened its clampdown on domestic tech companies trying to list overseas.
