Pony.ai, this Chinese startup backed by Toyota, has just closed a new series D fundraising, which allows him to approach the 8 billion euros of valuation. Proof that there is still room in the market for autonomous technologies.
A bumpy road for Pony.ai
Founded in 2016, Pony.ai has implemented an interesting strategy that allows it to carry out tests in both China and the United States. At the end of 2020, the valuation of the company reached “only” 4 billion euros. In just a few months and despite several disappointments, Pony.ai has clearly succeeded in attracting investors. Yet the self-driving truck division in the United States was rocked by a wave of resignations. American engineers preferred to join competing companies rather than see their division merging with that of self-driving cars.
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Another major disappointment: in December 2021, California suspended Pony.ai’s license following a collision. A hard blow for the company, but this probably did not affect the motivation of investors. Increased surveillance of tech companies by the Chinese government also had to force Pony.ai to halt plans for a U.S. IPOshortly after hiring a former JPMorgan executive as chief financial officer.
The startup plans to accelerate in 2022
The development of autonomous driving is very expensive. To generate income as quickly as possible, Pony.ai relies on its autonomous truck division more than that of autonomous taxis. With a team of over 1,000 people around the world, Pony.ai is now one of the biggest companies out there. The startup is testing autonomous vehicles in four major Chinese cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen.
Same thing in the United States with trials in Fremont and Irvine in California. Its self-driving taxis have also been allowed to start doing pay passengers in a test area in the suburbs of Beijing, along with Baidu’s self-driving vehicle fleet. James Peng, CEO and co-founder of the startup, explained how Pony.ai plans to use this new fundraiser. He explains that “this new funding round will enable us to increase our hiring in 2022, open new test sites around the world, advance our strategic partnerships and rapidly increase our fleet”.