Pony.ai files for IPO in the US, with a revenue of 1.2 billion yuan in three years | Frontline

Written by Li Anqi

Edited by Li Qin

After Tesla's Robotaxi vehicles attracted global attention, domestic autonomous driving companies also plan to enter a broader secondary market.

On October 18, the autonomous driving company Pony.ai submitted a prospectus to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, planning to list on the Nasdaq. According to the overseas listing filing of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Pony.ai intends to issue no more than 98,149,500 ordinary shares.

The prospectus shows that the funds raised by Pony's IPO are mainly used in three aspects: large-scale commercialization and market expansion of autonomous driving mobility services and freight services, continuous research and development and investment in autonomous driving technology, and potential strategic investments and acquisitions. Before the IPO, Pony has completed 7 rounds of financing with a total amount of over 1.3 billion US dollars.

Pony.ai was founded in 2016 and is an autonomous driving technology and solution provider for the global market. Its businesses include autonomous driving mobility services (Robotaxi), autonomous driving trucks (Robotruck), and intelligent driving for passenger vehicles (POV). Currently, Pony.ai's total mileage of autonomous driving road tests has accumulated nearly 40 million kilometers.

According to the prospectus, in 2022, 2023, and the first half of 2024, Pony's revenues were 68.39 million US dollars, 71.90 million US dollars, and 24.72 million US dollars respectively, totaling over 165 million US dollars (approximately 1.2 billion yuan), making it the L4 autonomous driving company with the highest revenue in China.

In terms of losses, Pony's losses have been narrowing year by year. The prospectus shows that Pony.ai's adjusted net losses before 2022 and 2023 were 148 million US dollars and 125 million US dollars respectively. In the first half of this year, Pony.ai's adjusted loss before was 51.78 million US dollars.

As of the end of the second quarter, Pony's total cash and cash equivalents amounted to 473 million US dollars (approximately 3.437 billion yuan), and Pony claims that it can ensure the safe and stable operation of the company for about 5 years.

Established for 8 years, Pony.ai has been exploring the commercialization model of autonomous driving technology. In terms of Robotaxi, Pony.ai has a fleet of over 250 driverless taxis in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and other places, and has begun to provide fully driverless paid services in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Pony claims that as of the end of the second quarter, the average daily order volume of each Pony.ai fully driverless Robotaxi exceeds 15.

In the mass production of driverless vehicles, Pony also cooperates with automakers such as Toyota, GAC, and FAW. In April this year, Pony, Toyota China, and GAC Toyota jointly invested over 1 billion yuan to establish a joint venture. The first Robotaxi model of the joint venture is expected to be launched in first-tier cities with over 1,000 units from 2025 to 2026.

Robotaxi is still considered to have a considerable market prospect. According to the institution Frost & Sullivan's forecast, the global market size of Robotaxi is expected to reach 290 million US dollars in 2025 and further reach 66.6 billion US dollars in 2030. China is expected to become the largest Robotaxi market, accounting for approximately 58.5% of the global autonomous driving mobility service market in 2030.

In addition to Robotaxi, Pony is also continuously expanding its business boundaries. In the Robotruck field, Pony also operates a fleet of more than 190 autonomous driving trucks, with a cumulative commercial transportation of over 767 million tons-kilometers; while in the field of intelligent driving for passenger vehicles, Pony mainly generates revenue through technology licensing and application services.

Overseas, Pony.ai is also making multi-faceted layouts. Currently, Pony.ai has carried out autonomous driving technology and landing cooperation in Singapore, South Korea, Luxembourg, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other places.