Uber lays out key moves in autonomous driving: plans to acquire Pony AI's U.S. subsidiary
Uber is in negotiations with co-founder Travis Kalanick to fund his acquisition of the U.S. subsidiary of Chinese autonomous driving company Pony AI, with talks still in the preliminary stages. This move aims to address the increasing competitive pressure from autonomous taxi services like Waymo. Pony AI went public in the U.S. last year, with a market value of approximately $4.5 billion
Forced to leave Uber eight years ago, founder Travis Kalanick may return in an unexpected way—helping the ride-hailing giant acquire the U.S. operations of Chinese autonomous driving company Pony.ai to jointly address threats from competitors like Waymo.
According to a June 26 report by The New York Times, sources revealed that Uber is in preliminary talks with its co-founder Travis Kalanick to fund the acquisition of Pony.ai's U.S. subsidiary. This deal would allow Kalanick, who was forced to resign in 2017, to re-engage with Uber's business while helping the ride-hailing giant cope with increasing competition from autonomous taxi services like Waymo.
If the deal goes through, Kalanick would be responsible for operating the Pony.ai subsidiary. However, the negotiations are still in the early stages, and it remains unclear what role Uber will play as an investor in the company. Pony.ai, founded in 2016, has obtained permits for robotaxi and truck operations in both the U.S. and China. The company went public in the U.S. last year, raising $260 million, and currently has a market value of approximately $4.5 billion. According to insiders, Pony.ai is preparing for the sale or spin-off of its U.S. subsidiary.
Intensifying Competition in Autonomous Driving Forces Uber to Adjust Strategy
This collaboration talks reflect the accelerating impact of autonomous driving technology on the traditional ride-hailing model.
Uber is facing increasing competitive pressure. Waymo, the self-driving car division spun off from Google, has seen strong momentum in its robotaxi services. This month, Tesla also launched a limited robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. In cities like San Francisco, where robotaxi services are offered, these autonomous vehicles have become ubiquitous and quite popular.
Currently, Uber and Waymo are both partners and competitors. In Phoenix, passengers can order Waymo cars through the Uber app; in Austin, Waymo's robotaxis carry Uber branding. However, Waymo has expanded into more cities, potentially eroding Uber's market share.
Under the leadership of current CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber has established partnerships with about 18 autonomous driving companies, including Wayve, May Mobility, and WeRide, launching pilot projects for self-driving car services in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
Khosrowshahi stated in a podcast interview that the goal is to "deploy as many cars as possible" on the Uber network. He insists that while autonomous vehicles are steadily increasing, the ride-hailing network will have both human and robot drivers in the coming years.
Warming Relations Between Former Rivals
One of the key figures in this acquisition, Kalanick, has been running the virtual restaurant startup CloudKitchens since being forced out of Uber in 2017. Now 48 years old, he has developed a keen interest in robotics over the past year, introducing robots to prepare food for customers in some CloudKitchens and experimenting with automated kitchens for takeout food production Informed sources reveal that over the past year, Kalanick and Khosrowshahi have started to communicate more frequently, discussing robotics technology, food delivery, the growth of Uber Eats and CloudKitchens, as well as the rise of autonomous vehicles. These conversations, along with the passage of time, have eased the once frosty relationship between the two
