Pony.ai teams up with Tencent for robotaxi services on WeChat, other apps

Chinese start-up Pony.ai said Friday it will develop autonomous 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 include 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 quite some time," Pony.ai CEO James Peng told CNBC on the sidelines of the Shanghai Auto Show on Friday. He cited Tencent's huge user base and its cloud offerings as factors supporting the "win-win" collaboration as the start-up continues to scale up. Following the partnership, Peng said that ... Read full article.