Pony.ai Raises $102M in Follow-on Series A Funding, Bringing Round Total to $214M
Just six months after its unprecedented Series A announcement of $112M, autonomous vehicle company Pony.ai has raised a follow-on funding round. Co-led by ClearVue Partners and Eight Roads (the proprietary investment arm of Fidelity International Limited), this continuation of funding represents $102M, bringing Pony.ai’s total Series A funding to $214M.
In addition to ClearVue and Eight Roads, new investors include Green Pine Capital Partners, China Merchants Capital, Redpoint Ventures China, Adrian Cheng (Founder of K11), and Delong Capital. Existing investors participating in this round include Sequoia Capital China, Morningside Ventures, DCM Ventures, and Hongtai Capital. Notably, both Sequoia and Morningside are taking this opportunity to increase their share in Pony.ai. This infusion of capital reflects a growing interest from both a new and existing investor group. It also serves as another testament to investors’ conviction in Pony.ai’s team, technology, and path towards commercialization.
Since its last round of funding, the Pony.ai team has tripled in size and continues to grow rapidly. In February, Pony.ai soft-launched an autonomous ride-hailing fleet in Guangzhou, becoming the first company ever to offer fully self-driving car rides to the general public in China. To date, the fleet has already given over a thousand rides covering an area of roughly 30 kilometers2 (19 miles2). In addition to fleet expansion, team growth, and supporting existing and new partnerships, this round of capital will be used to accelerate Pony.ai’s entry into commercialization.