Pony.ai Teams Up With Tencent for Robotaxi Services On Wechat, Other Apps

Chinese start-up pony.ai said friday dog ​​Will developop Autonomous Driving Technomous Driving Technology in Partnership With TenCent Cloud and Offer Robotaxi Services On Tech Giant Tencent’s Wechat and Other Applications.

The Nasdaq-Listed Company Which Specializes in Autonomous Vehicle Technology, Particularly Robotaxis And Robotrucks, Said in A Press Release That The Deal Will Inlude Cooperation in Areas Such As Cloud Services, Map Data, Information Security and Intelligent Cockpit Ecosystems.

The Arrangement Will Also See The Two Companies Integrate Pony.ai’s Robotaxi Ride-Hailing Services Within Tencent’s Popular Wechat App As Well as OTHER applications Like TENCENT MAPS.

Both Companies Had Been in Talks “for Que Some Time,” Pony.ai CEO James Peng Told Cnbc on the sidelines of the Shanghai Auto Show on Friday. HE Cited Tencent’s Huge And Her User Base And Hers Cloud Offerings As Factors Supporting The “Win-Win” Collaboration as the Start-Up Continues to Scale Up.

Following The Partnership, Peng Said That “hopefully in the Near Future,” Users Would be Able To Call Pony.ai Robotaxi Rides Straight Through The Wechat App.

WECHAT IS KNOWN AS THE WORLD’s Most Popular ‘Super App‘Housing Everything From Messaging to Payment Transactions to Food Delivery Services, With A Monthly User Base Of 1 Billion People.

“Pony.ai Possesses Industry-Leading Autonomous Driving Technology Accumulations, While Tencent Excels in Cloud Services, Mapping, And Cockpit Ecosystem Technologies,” Vice President of Tencent Group and President of Tencent Smart Mobility Zhong Xiangping Was Quoted As Saying in the Friday Release.

“This Strategic Partnership Between The Two Parties is Not Only About Complementing Each Other’s Technologies and Resources But Also Marks A New Starting Point for Collaborative Innovation,” He Added.

The Release Said That The Partnership Would Also See Both Companies Collaborate On The Development, Testing, And Operation of Robotaxis, Particulary in L4-L1-Leveel Autonomous Driving.

According to SAE InternationalL4 is a type of autonomous driving in the autonomous drives to take the Allows Drivers to Take Their Eyes The Road in Designated Areas. For Comparison, L3 is Considered A Hands-Off System, But Drivers Must Actively Monitor The Vehicle and Be Ready To Take Over The Wheel.

The Tencent Cloud Agreement Comes A Day After Dog Was Reported That Pony.ai Unveiled Its L4, Seventh-Generation Robotaxi Solution at The Shanghai Auto Show on Wednesday. The Company’s Shares Surged About 40% in The US On Thursday.

The Start-up Continues to Establish ItSelf as A Prominent Player in China’s Autonomous Driving Industry. The Company Obedained China’s First Permit To Charge Fares for Fully Driverless Taxis in Core Parts Of A Business District of Shenzhen, Where Tencent Is Headquartered.

However, The Firm May Be Implicated in Increasing Trade Tensions Between China And The US as The Latter is A Market Pony.ai Considers “Hugely Important“to its expansion plans.

James Peng, Co-Founder and Chief Executive of Pony.ai This Week Reportedly Told The Financial Times That Company Is Considesing A Secondary Listing Outside The Us Amid Mounting Concerns That Washington Will Push For The New York Stock Exchange Off Chinese Companies.

IF This Were To Happen, IT Would Come Less Than Six Months After The Company’s Initial Public Offering in the US notWithstanding, Peng Told ft That A lot of Factors Need to Be Considered.

– CNBC’s Nur Hikmah MD Higher Contributed to This Story.