Robotaxi Firm Pony AI Raises $863M in Hong Kong Listing
Uber Technologies Is in Talks to Invest $100 Million in the Share Sale
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Pony AI Inc. raised HK$6.71 billion ($863 million) in its Hong Kong listing, pricing shares at HK$139 each.
The company sold 42 million shares in the base offering and exercised the option to sell an additional 6.3 million, according to a filing Nov. 3 confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. The price represents a discount of slightly over 4% to its Oct. 31 close of $18.68 per American depositary receipt on the Nasdaq.
Pony had set a maximum price of HK$180 per share for the offering, but the U.S.-listed ADRs have fallen since then. The ADRs, which are equivalent to one ordinary share, fell as much as 4.4% in early trading Nov. 3.
The robotaxi firm’s listing has attracted ride-hailing giant Uber Technologies Inc., which was in talks to invest about $100 million in the share sale, people familiar with the matter have said. Pony AI went public in the U.S. just last year, shortly after rival autonomous driving firm WeRide Inc. made its U.S. debut.
Both companies are now targeting listings in Hong Kong on Nov. 6. WeRide is looking to raise as much as HK$3.1 billion in its share sale.
The two robotaxi firms’ parallel offerings also underscore the ambitions of such Chinese companies, now that Beijing has set a policy goal for the country to become the world’s leader in driverless vehicles by 2035.
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Pony AI is planning to use the proceeds from its Hong Kong listing for large-scale commercialization of its Level 4 autonomous driving technology in both robotaxi and robotruck services, as well as for research and development. The company has a goal to turn profitable in 2028 or 2029.
Pony AI’s American depositary receipts have climbed 44% since their debut in November 2024, giving the firm a market capitalization of $7.2 billion.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Bank of America Corp., Deutsche Bank AG, and Huatai International are joint sponsors for Pony AI’s Hong Kong listing.
Uber Freight ranks No. 14 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America.
