Pony.ai - Top Valuation Self-Driving Startup
Shanghai and California Based Autonomous Driving Company Source: Pony.ai Lexus SUV Backed by Toyota China startup Pony.ai has just secured $267 million, on top of a recent $462 million, in another round of funding. That values the company at $5.3 billion, which makes it the world's most valuable independent autonomous driving startup. It has a much higher valuation than rivals Nuro and Aurora. Toyota Backed The Shanghai and Fremont, California based company is backed by Toyota, with which it is exploring mobility solutions. Bottom-line: this is a very hot startup. And the funding for it comes at a time when global automakers, technology firms and investors, as well as Tesla, Uber and Waymo, are pouring money into developing self-driving vehicles. Timeline and Plans Pony.ai plans to use the funding to develop technology and expand its fleet. In early 2019, it started developing autonomous truck tec