Uber in talks with co-founder to help buy US unit of Chinese self-driving start-up Pony.ai
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
A Pony.ai robotaxi on display at the Auto Shanghai show in China on April 24, 2025.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Mike Isaac
Follow topic:
SAN FRANCISCO – Uber is increasingly grappling with competition from self-driving taxi services like Waymo. The ride-hailing giant is now taking more action to deal with that threat.
Uber is in talks with Mr Travis Kalanick, the company’s co-founder who was forced out in a boardroom coup eight years ago, to help fund his acquisition of the US subsidiary of a Chinese autonomous vehicle company, said two people with knowledge of the matter.
The company, Pony.ai, was founded in Silicon Valley in 2016 but has its main presence in China, and has permits to operate robot taxis and trucks in the US and China.
The talks are preliminary, said the people, adding that Mr Kalanick will run Pony if the deal is completed.
It is unclear what role, if any, Uber would take in Pony as an investor.
Financial details of the potential transaction could not be determined.
Pony went public in 2024 in the US, raising US$260 million (S$331.6 million) in a share sale. Its market capitalisation stands at around US$4.5 billion.
If the deal goes through, Mr Kalanick, 48, will remain in his day job running CloudKitchens, a virtual restaurant start-up that he founded after leaving Uber in 2017.
He would also work more closely with Mr Dara Khosrowshahi, who took over as Uber’s chief executive after Mr Kalanick’s ouster.
The discussions are the starkest sign yet that Uber is under pressure from Waymo, the driverless car unit spun out of Google, and other autonomous car services.
Last week, Tesla unveiled a limited robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. Over time, these autonomous vehicle services may replace or eat into rides from human drivers.
In cities like San Francisco where robotaxi services are available, the vehicles have become ubiquitous and are popular. NYTIMES
