5Y News | Pony.ai, a 5Y Capital portfolio company, completes first closing of Series D funding round at $8.5 billion valuation
Accelerating the commercialization and mass production of autonomous driving in both passenger and commercial vehicle segments.
On March 7, Pony.ai announced the first closing of its Series D funding round, bringing its total valuation to $8.5 billion. The valuation represents an increase of roughly 65% from the previous round, reflecting investors' confidence in the company's trajectory.
Since completing its Series C in February last year, Pony.ai has hit multiple technical and commercial milestones in both autonomous ride-hailing (Robotaxi) and smart logistics. Proceeds from this round will go toward team expansion, R&D, scaling its Robotaxi and autonomous truck (Robotruck) fleets for global testing and operations, mass production of autonomous driving technology, and commercial deployment. 5Y Capital co-led Pony.ai's Series A and has continued to back the company through its B, C, and D rounds.
"We're thrilled to share this funding news," said Jun Peng, co-founder and CEO of Pony.ai. "This round wouldn't have happened without the entire Pony.ai team. Thanks to their efforts, we achieved numerous milestones in 2021. We're equally confident about 2022 and will accelerate the development of autonomous driving technology globally. Our technical capabilities and solid financial position will continue to drive all aspects of our business: we'll further expand our team, open new testing and operations centers worldwide, advance strategic partnerships across the board, and grow our autonomous fleet. We're grateful for the consistent support of our existing investors, and we welcome new partners to help write Pony.ai's global story."
"Technical strength is the key factor in winning investor support. Over the past two years, our core technical metrics have improved substantially. In most scenarios, Pony.ai's 'virtual driver' can match or even exceed human drivers," said Tiancheng Lou, co-founder and CTO of Pony.ai. "We're highly confident in our technology roadmap. Pony.ai is rapidly advancing the commercialization and mass production of autonomous driving in both passenger and commercial vehicles."
"We're deeply pleased with Pony.ai's positive financial progress and valuation increase. The growth in valuation reflects investor recognition of Pony.ai — both for its business progress over the past year and for the clear targets we've set for 2022. The company's financial position is very sound and will provide a solid foundation for Pony.ai's development in the coming years, up until we enter large-scale commercialization," said CFO Lawrence Steyn.
5Y Capital seeks out, supports, and inspires founders who are going it alone, providing everything from moral support to operational backing. We believe that if the person others see as crazy starts to be believed in, the world will become a different place.
BEIJING · SHANGHAI · SHENZHEN · HONG KONG
