Uber said to eye US$10 million stake in IPO of China’s Pony AI amid self-driving boom

The ride-hailing giant may consider using Pony AI’s autonomous-driving technology outside the US, a source says

Reading Time:1 minute

Uber is in talks to invest in the US IPO of Chinese robotaxi firm Pony AI. Photo: dpa

Published: 10:03am, 22 Nov 2024

Uber Technologies plans to invest in Pony AI’s US initial public offering (IPO), which is expected to be priced next week after being upsized by the autonomous driving firm, people familiar with the matter said.

San Francisco-based Uber is seeking to buy more than US$10 million of shares in Pony AI’s IPO, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. The company may consider using Pony AI technology in a partnership outside the US, one of the people said.

Uber also invested in last month’s US IPO of China’s WeRide, people with knowledge of the matter said. It has a robotaxi service agreement in Abu Dhabi with the developer of autonomous driving technology.

Deliberations are ongoing and the size of a potential investment in Pony AI has not been finalised, they said. Representatives for Uber and WeRide declined to comment. Pony AI did not respond to a request for comment.

A Pony AI self-driving taxi in Beijing, China. Photo: EPA-EFE

Uber has tied up with several other automated driving tech firms recently, including robotaxi operator Waymo and an undisclosed investment in Wayve Technologies.