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BEIJING, October 30 (TMTPost)— Chinese autonomous driving technology company Pony.ai, Inc. secured is poised to foray into the Middle East through a new partnership with a key project of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious diversification program.

Credit：Neom

Pony.ai received an investment of US$100 million from the Neom Investment Fund (NIF), a strategic investment arm founded by Neom last Tuesday. The new funding will be used for the worldwide research and development (R&D) and operation of autonomous technology. As a critical element of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan, Neom is deemed as the brainchild of Saudi’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The new urban area, covering an area of 26,500 km2, is positioned as a financial and global trade hub for businesses. The city is designed to operate on 100% clean energy with wind, solar and hydrogen power and could cost $500 billion to complete. NIF is set up to support the buildout and development of Neom’s 14 priorty sectors.

The investment in Pony.ai aligns with Neom’s ambitious plans to achieve autonomous transportation solutions for the region, said NIF CEO Majid Mufti. The investment is “an essential part of our ambitious plans to build a smart, zero-emission, autonomous multi-modal transport system, connecting people and communities across Neom, while incubating new technologies for the benefit of the world,” Terry Wong, Executive Director, Land Mobility, Neom said. “With this investment, we are moving ever closer towards a new future for commuters and travelers – one that is safer, more convenient, and more sustainable.”

Besides the investment, Neom also announced it will work with Pony.ai to establish a joint venture to develop, manufacture and deliver autonomous technology driving services, advanced vehicles, and smart vehicle infrastructure in Neom and key markets in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The venture will include a local state-of-the-art autonomous vehicle manufacturing and R&D facility, said Terry Wong.Pony.ai co-founder and CEO James Peng hailed the regional expansion through the venture with Neom “a milestone for our global aspirations and our vision of ‘autonomous mobility everywhere’”. Peng anticipated the expansion will advance the development of the global autonomous vehicle industry into a new stage.

Pony.ai is the first company in China to operate fully driverless vehicles in both Beijing and Guangzhou. It is one of the first companies to obtain licenses to operate fully driverless vehicles in all four Tier-1 Cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. Founded in 2016, Pony.ai completed its angel round funding backed by Sequoia China and IDG Capital on January, 2017.  Since then, the startup completed multiple funding rounds and the latest round—Series D funding in March 2022 brought it a valuation of US$8.5 billion. That is a big stride from its previous funding in November 2020 when it was valued at US$5.3 billion.

Prior to Neom’s investment, Poiny.ai’s post-money valuation has reached US$8.5 billion , the startup told Chinese newspaper 21st Century Business Herald. The next three years will be Pony.ai’s key period to achieve commercialization, and with the clear strategic objectives, the company has created three major businesses including Robotax, Robotruck and Personally Owned vehicles (POV), the CEO James Peng said in April.

Neom’s partnership is Pony.ai’s second major expansion effort in the Middle East this month. On October 18, about a week before Neom’s announcement, Pony.ai signed a strategic partnership agreement with Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), a government entity in charge of attracting and facilitating investment in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The agreement marks Pony.ai became a new member of the Abu Dhabi Smart Autonomous Vehicle Industry (SAVI) cluster, situated in Masdar City, the futuristic sustainable urban development project in Abu Dhabi, and it was allowed to conduct autonomous driving road tests on Yas Island.