What’s Next for Robotaxi Company Pony.ai? An IPO.

Autonomous vehicles are increasingly global in scope, and the trajectory of one of the buzziest companies in that sector — China’s Pony.ai — helps explain why. Pony.ai’s robotaxis have operated on roads in the U.S., but they’ve also received a substantial investment from Saudi Arabia’s Neom — along with a longstanding partnership with Toyota. Now, they’re following in the footsteps of many a prominent tech company and have filed paperwork for an IPO.

As Reuters reported this week, Pony.ai seeks to be listed on Nasdaq; their ticker symbol of choice is, shockingly enough, “PONY.” Their filing includes some other notable statistics, including the fact that their vehicles have cumulatively driven 33.5 million kilometers in autonomous mode — though some of those routes did have a driver on hand in case of an emergency.

“We were among the first in China to obtain licenses to operate fully driverless robotaxis in all four Tier-1 cities in China (namely Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen),” the company declares in the filing. Pony.ai went on to tout the over 400 robotrucks and robotaxis that they currently have in operation.

Robotaxi Company Cruise Announces Partnership With Uber

It’s set to go into effect in 2025

What can autonomous vehicle observers take from this filing? Writing at TechCrunch, Rebecca Bellan and Sean O’Kane analyzed the filing — and drew particular attention to Pony.ai’s lengthy breakdown of potential risks, which Bellan and O’Kane described as “incredibly thorough.”

Another big question looming over this filing is the extent to which the U.S. market will be part of Pony.ai’s future plans. It’s been a challenging time as of late for some self-driving automakers, though Pony.ai’s global focus leaves that question tantalizingly open.