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Pony.ai
Self-driving technology
- 501-1000 employees
- B2B
- Artificial Intelligence
- Transport
- SaaS
- Automation
- Baylands, Fremont, CA
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Company mission
Pony.ai's mission is to accelerate the transition to widespread autonomous mobility everywhere.
-13% employee growth in 12 months
Our take
Pony.ai is a driverless vehicle manufacturer and developer based in the US and China. Its bespoke AI driving system is adept at functioning in complex road scenarios using deep learning models and over 1.5 million autonomous miles of testing. Pony.ai has formed partnerships with leading equipment manufacturers, including Toyota, FAW Group and GAC Group.
The two founders are ex-Baidu employees with significant experience in the autonomous driving space. With more than 90% of traffic accidents in the US caused by human error, Pony.ai is looking to improve road safety with intelligent tech. The company is initially focused on taxis and long-distance freight trucks before it rolls the technology out to other vehicle types.
In 2022, Pony.ai became the first and only autonomous driving company to obtain a taxi license in China. It was awarded a permit to operate 100 autonomous vehicles as traditional taxis in Nansha, Guangzhou, highlighting its success so far. While the fleet currently retains safety drivers, the company expects to remove the driver over the short to intermediate time frame.
Although several other autonomous vehicle companies are operating, such as WeRide, Deeproute and AutoX, Pony.ai is well-positioned in terms of financial muscle and its successful multi-location testing. The company plans to significantly expand its hiring, open up a number of new autonomous vehicle global testing and operation sites, progress its strategic partnerships, and rapidly grow its fleet.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Benefits
- Generous PTO and paid holidays
- Daily meals and bi-weekly happy hours
- Equity opportunity
- 401k plan
- Work from home opportunities
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
Company values
- Safety First
- Tech Obsessed
- Team Spirit
- Self-starter
Funding (last 2 of 5 rounds)
Oct 2024
$27m
LATE VC
Oct 2023
$100m
SERIES D
Total funding: $739m
This company has top investors
Leadership
James Peng
(CEO)After a PhD at Stanford, James worked for 7 years as a Google Software Engineer. He spent a further 4 years at Baidu USA as Chief Architect of Autonomous Driving before leaving to co-found Pony.ai in December 2016.
Tiancheng Lou
(CTO)Began his career at GoogleX, then he became the youngest T10 engineer at Baidu’s Autonomous Driving Division. Holds a Ph.D. and a B.S. from Tsinghua University.