Pony.ai groups up with Tencent for robotaxi companies on WeChat, different apps

Chinese language start-up Pony.ai mentioned Friday it’ll develop autonomous driving know-how in partnership with Tencent Cloud and provide robotaxi companies on tech big Tencent’s WeChat and different purposes.

The Nasdaq-listed firm which focuses on autonomous automobile know-how, significantly robotaxis and robotrucks, mentioned in a press launch that the deal will embody cooperation in areas equivalent to cloud companies, map information, data safety and clever cockpit ecosystems.

The association may even see the 2 corporations combine Pony.ai’s robotaxi ride-hailing companies inside Tencent’s common WeChat app in addition to different purposes like Tencent Maps. 

Each corporations had been in talks “for fairly a while,” Pony.ai CEO James Peng advised CNBC on the sidelines of the Shanghai Auto Present on Friday. He cited Tencent’s big consumer base and its cloud choices as elements supporting the “win-win” collaboration because the start-up continues to scale up.

Following the partnership, Peng mentioned that “hopefully within the close to future,” customers would be capable to name Pony.ai robotaxi rides straight by way of the WeChat app.

WeChat is named the world’s hottest ‘tremendous app,’ housing the whole lot from messaging to cost transactions to meals supply companies, with a month-to-month consumer base of over 1 billion folks.

“Pony.ai possesses industry-leading autonomous driving know-how accumulations, whereas Tencent excels in cloud companies, mapping, and cockpit ecosystem applied sciences,” Vice President of Tencent Group and President of Tencent Good Mobility Zhong Xiangping was quoted as saying within the Friday launch. 

“This strategic partnership between the 2 events just isn’t solely about complementing one another’s applied sciences and assets but additionally marks a brand new place to begin for collaborative innovation,” he added. 

The discharge mentioned that the partnership would additionally see each corporations collaborate on the event, testing, and operation of Robotaxis, significantly in L4-level autonomous driving.

In accordance with SAE Worldwide, L4 is a kind of autonomous driving that permits drivers to take their eyes off the street in designated areas. For comparability, L3 is taken into account a hands-off system, however drivers should actively monitor the automobile and be able to take over the wheel.

The Tencent Cloud settlement comes a day after it was reported that Pony.ai unveiled its L4, seventh-generation robotaxi answer on the Shanghai Auto Present on Wednesday. The corporate’s shares surged about 40% within the U.S. on Thursday. 

The beginning-up continues to ascertain itself as a distinguished participant in China’s autonomous driving {industry}. The corporate obtained China’s first allow to cost fares for totally driverless taxis in core components of a enterprise district of Shenzhen, the place Tencent is headquartered. 

Nonetheless, the agency could also be implicated in growing commerce tensions between China and the U.S. because the latter is a market Pony.ai considers “massively vital” to its growth plans.

James Peng, co-founder and chief government of Pony.ai this week reportedly advised the Monetary Instances that the corporate is contemplating a secondary itemizing exterior the U.S. amid mounting considerations that Washington will push for the delisting of Chinese language corporations off the New York Inventory Trade. 

If this had been to occur, it could come lower than six months after the corporate’s preliminary public providing within the U.S. However, Peng advised FT that a whole lot of elements must be thought of.

— CNBC’s Nur Hikmah Md Ali contributed to this story.