Pony AI, a Chinese self-driving technology company, is moving closer to its initial public offering (IPO) in the United States, albeit with a reduced target for the funds it hopes to raise. The company, which operates a fleet of 190 “robotrucks” in Beijing and Guangzhou and more than 250 robotaxis across four major Chinese cities, including Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Shanghai, is looking to raise up to $224 million from its IPO. This is a decrease from its initial target of $425 million.
According to a filing made last Thursday, Pony plans to issue 15 million American Depository Shares (ADS), with an additional 2.25 million shares available if demand is high. The company has set the expected price range for the shares between $11 and $13 each, which would place its valuation at around $4.48 billion at the top end of the range.
Pony’s valuation was much higher in 2022, when it reached $8.5 billion following a Series D funding round, with backing from Toyota. However, its new valuation is still significant, as it prepares to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker “PONY.”
While the company is still aiming for a substantial sum in its IPO, the new figures are notably lower than initial expectations. The IPO comes at a time when Chinese companies are re-entering the U.S. stock market after a multi-year ban by Beijing on offshore capital raising, with U.S. investors displaying a renewed appetite for Chinese tech firms despite geopolitical tensions.
In the autonomous vehicle sector, Pony AI follows other Chinese startups such as Zeekr and WeRide, which recently debuted on U.S. exchanges, highlighting the growing trend of Chinese companies going public in the U.S. market.
