Pony AI, a China-based developer of autonomous vehicle systems for robotaxis and robotrucks, announced terms for its IPO on Thursday.
The Guangzhou, China-based company plans to raise $180 million by offering 15 million ADSs at a price range of $11 to $13. New investors have indicated on $75 million worth of ADSs in the offering (42% of the deal), and the company plans to raise an additional $153 million in a concurrent private placement. At the midpoint of the proposed range, Pony AI would command a fully diluted market value of $4.6 billion.
Through partnerships with leading OEMs, including Toyota, GAC, and SAIC, Pony AI aims to mass produce autonomous driving technology used in robotaxis, robotrucks and other applications. It currently operates a fleet of over 250 robotaxis, which have been licensed to operate without a driver in all four Tier-1 cities in China, and 190 robotrucks. To date, it has generated a majority of its revenue from licensing its technology (e.g. proprietary vehicle domain controller products, data analytics tools) to OEMs, and providing robotruck logistics services, but expects its robotaxi services, which include AV software deployment and maintenance, vehicle integration and engineering and road testing, and to a lesser extent passenger rides, to become a larger portion of revenue in the future.
Pony AI was founded in 2016 and booked $84 million in revenue for the 12 months ended June 30, 2024. It plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol PONY. Goldman Sachs (Asia), BofA Securities, Deutsche Bank, Huatai Securities, and Tiger Brokers are the joint bookrunners on the deal. It is expected to price during the week of November 18, 2024.
