Yimeng Zhang, VP of engineering at Pony.AI, Roly Heinisch, managing partner of Emile Weber Group, and Emile Weber, managing partner of Emile Weber Group sign a partnership for mobility. Photo: Laurent Blum / Emile Weber

Yimeng Zhang, VP of engineering at Pony.AI, Roly Heinisch, managing partner of Emile Weber Group, and Emile Weber, managing partner of Emile Weber Group sign a partnership for mobility. Photo: Laurent Blum / Emile Weber

Pony.AI Europe, the European division of Pony.AI, a China-based autonomous driving company backed by Toyota, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Luxembourg transport company Emile Weber. The announcement comes a few days after Pony.AI filed for an initial public offering in the US.

After its , Emile Weber has pulled off another coup by signing a partnership agreement with Pony.AI “to develop autonomous mobility in the grand duchy. The agreement will enable the two companies to cooperate on the research, development and deployment of autonomous vehicles.”

This collaboration follows a similar agreement signed in March 2024 between Pony.AI and the Luxembourg government to promote autonomous mobility in the country. The American company has chosen the grand duchy as the location for its European centre, a hub that will serve as a research and development centre for autonomous driving technologies.

In collaboration with Emile Weber, it will conduct tests of Pony.AI autonomous vehicles on Luxembourg roads. The integration of Pony’s autonomous vehicles into Emile Weber’s transport services is another possibility, offering customers new mobility options. The development of tailor-made autonomous mobility solutions for Luxembourg, taking into account local infrastructures and regulations, is also a possibility.

In parallel with this partnership, Pony on 17 October 2024 filed for an initial public offering in the United States. The company was valued at $8.5bn when it raised funds in 2022, in which Toyota participated. However, Pony's board of directors recently reduced the minimum valuation for its IPO to $4bn. The minimum fundraising target has also been reduced from $425m to $200m.

Pony.AI’s IPO follows a trend of Chinese companies seeking to go public in the US after a multi-year ban by Beijing on raising offshore capital. Zeekr, a Chinese luxury electric vehicle startup, made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange in May, and WeRide, another autonomous vehicle startup, is also considering a US IPO.

This article was originally published in .