March 12, 2024 - Chinese autonomous driving startup Pony.ai plans to establish a regional R&D center 16 in Luxembourg to further its internationalization efforts.
Pony.ai recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to collaborate on advancing autonomous driving research, development, and deployment there, according to a press release today
With support from Luxembourg's national innovation agency Luxinnovation and others, Pony.ai plans to establish a regional R&D center there, the Chinese startup said. The center will focus on exploring and developing cutting-edge areas of autonomous driving, and launching customized autonomous driving solutions for the European market and users.
The partnership has expanded Pony.ai's global technology footprint to Europe, North America, East Asia and the Middle East, it said. Founded in late 2016, Pony.ai has set up R&D centers in Silicon Valley, Guangzhou, Beijing, and Shanghai, with local robotaxi operations.
In late 2019, Nio Capital invested in Pony.ai for an undisclosed amount. In February 2020, the company announced it had raised $400 million from Toyota. On August 4, 2023, Pony.ai signed an agreement with Toyota and Toyota's joint venture company, GAC Toyota, in order to create a joint venture company to operate the robotaxi business in China.
On October 25, 2023, Pony.ai said it received a $100 million investment from Saudi Arabia's Neom and its investment fund NIF (Neom Investment Fund. Pony.ai plans to set up a joint venture with Neom in northwestern Saudi Arabia to provide autonomous driving technology solutions for the region, the company said last October.
On March 4, Pony.ai signed a deal with South Korean tech company GemVaxLink to form a joint venture to provide autonomous driving mobility technology and services in the region.
The JV will be established in Seoul within this year, through which Pony.ai and GemVaxLink will work together on autonomous driving technology and application development.
