Uber Reportedly Investing in Autonomous Driving Firm Pony.ai

When autonomous driving firm Pony.ai goes public, Uber reportedly plans to invest.

The ride hailing/food delivery company intends to purchase more than $10 million worth of shares in Pony.ai’s initial public offering (IPO), which is expected to be priced next week, Bloomberg News reported Thursday (Nov. 21), citing sources familiar with the matter.

One source told the news outlet that Uber may also consider using China-based Pony.ai’s technology in a project outside of the U.S.

PYMNTS has contacted both companies for contact but has not yet gotten a reply.

Pony.ai’s IPO had been originally scheduled to be priced this week, but that has been postponed as the company deals with questions from regulators, sources told Bloomberg. The offering has been increased from 15 million depository shares to 20 million, the report said, with the potential to raise $260 million.

As Bloomberg notes, Uber has collaborated with other automated driving companies, such as robotaxi operator Waymo, which has worked with both Uber and its UberEats offshoot. The company also has a robotaxi service agreement in Abu Dhabi with China’s WeRide, which recently raised funds in a public offering in the U.S.

Reporting on the autonomous vehicle sector earlier this year, PYMNTS wrote that robotaxis are central to the vision of a future with safer roads, less congestion and enhanced mobility.

“The robotaxi embodies the ideal of fully autonomous vehicles operating in a shared, on-demand economy,” that report said. “Theoretically, these vehicles could revolutionize urban transportation by offering a convenient, cost-effective alternative to car ownership.”

But in spite of the optimism surrounding robotaxis, the road to complete autonomy has been rocky, as developing self-driving technology is a complicated, expensive undertaking, one that requires advancements in artificial intelligence, sensor technology, and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication.

“While companies like Waymo have achieved milestones — such as launching a fully autonomous ride-hailing service in select areas — these services are still limited in scope and geography,” PYMNTS wrote.

More recently, PYMNTS explored the benefits of driverless vehicles in a conversation with Andrew Smith, founder and CEO of Outrider. He said he can see a future where automation plays a larger role in supply chain resilience, particularly in extreme weather.

“It’s one thing to have same-day delivery, it’s another thing to have same-day delivery in a 115 degree heat dome,” said Smith. “We see the opportunity for automation or robotics to have a tremendous impact on a more sustainable economy and planet.”