Pony.ai, an autonomous driving company, announced that it has raised $400 million from Toyota Motor Corporation to expand the two companies’ collaboration in mobility services. The investment extends a business partnership that was formed in 2019. Both companies will further advance their joint efforts in autonomous driving technology development and mobility service deployment. The new funding totals $462 million.
In August 2019, Pony.ai and Toyota initiated joint autonomous driving pilots in China. This year’s investment will expand the partnership’s scope of collaboration. In addition to co-developing autonomous driving technology, Pony.ai and Toyota will look beyond the vehicle itself to explore further possibilities on mobility services.
Pony.ai has been testing its Robotaxi pilot service, PonyPilot since late 2018 in Guangzhou, China. With PonyPilot, Pony.ai became the first company to launch a Robotaxi operation and offer self-driving car rides to the general public in China. In November 2019, Pony.ai also became the first company to roll out a public-facing Robotaxi pilot service in California.
Going forward, Pony.ai and Toyota will continue to work together to deliver on their shared vision of a safe and sustainable mobility future. The partnership will focus on providing meaningful societal benefit by leveraging the technologies, know-how, and services of each company.
Founded in late 2016, Pony.ai provides autonomous mobility technologies and services across the US and China, producing public-facing Robotaxi pilots in both markets.
