Pony.ai designs a new generation of integrated autonomous driving system, which will be equipped with Luminar LiDAR

Pony.ai and Luminar (NASDAQ: LAZR), a leading company in the field of LiDAR, jointly released a new autonomous driving sensor system. The system uses a 360-degree all-round multi-sensor fusion solution to make vehicles safer and more reliable when operating in complex urban road conditions. The two parties will also work together to create a mass-producible automotive-grade sensor fusion solution.

Pony.ai plans to mass-produce automotive-grade autonomous driving systems in 2023, which will be equipped with Luminar's Iris LiDAR. This is also the first time that Luminar has chosen to enter into a strategic partnership with an autonomous driving company in China.

Pony.ai plans to use the new design in future mass-produced systems and fleets. The launch of the new system comes as Pony.ai is expanding its autonomous driving mobility service (Robotaxi) to five major cities in China and the United States, including Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Irvine and Fremont, California.

“Luminar is a leader in the lidar industry, and working with Luminar is a critical step for Pony.ai in building a new system and achieving scaled production,” said Peng Jun, co-founder and CEO of Pony.ai. “We both believe that deploying autonomous driving around the world will make future mobility safer and more sustainable, and we are excited to work with Luminar to realize this vision.”

Pony.ai launched China's first regular Robotaxi fleet in Guangzhou in December 2018, and launched California's first public Robotaxi service in June 2019, making Pony.ai the only autonomous driving company to deploy this service in multiple cities in China and the United States. Globally, Pony.ai has accumulated more than 5 million kilometers of autonomous driving mileage on urban public roads and has provided more than 220,000 autonomous driving trips to the public.

Austin Russell, founder and CEO of Luminar, said: "Pony.ai's concept of building a cross-vehicle platform autonomous driving system is impressive, and Pony.ai has demonstrated its leading position in the global Robotaxi industry. This cooperation will be an important milestone in the real implementation of Robotaxi in the next few years. The R&D experience we have accumulated in the past few years will further empower Pony.ai's new autonomous driving system and fleet."

About Luminar Technologies

Luminar is a company focused on sensors and software for autonomous vehicles. Its vision is to ensure the safety of autonomous driving by delivering the only lidar and related software that can meet the industry's stringent requirements for performance, safety and economy. Luminar has reached cooperation with more than 50 industry partners, including seven of the world's top ten automakers. Luminar has signed the industry's first autonomous vehicle production agreement with Volvo Cars, and has reached cooperation with SAIC, Daimler Trucks and Intel's Mobileye. Luminar has also received minority investments from Daimler Trucks, the world's largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, and Volvo Cars, a global leader in automotive safety, to accelerate the high-speed driving of autonomous trucks and cars. Founded in 2012, Luminar has nearly 400 employees and has offices in Palo Alto, Orlando, Colorado Springs, Detroit and Munich.

About Pony.ai

Founded in late 2016, Pony.ai is committed to providing safe, advanced, and reliable full-stack autonomous driving technology to revolutionize future transportation. Starting from China and the United States, we have established R&D centers in Silicon Valley, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. With the latest breakthroughs in artificial intelligence technology, Pony.ai has established cooperation with Toyota, Hyundai, FAW, GAC and other first-class international and domestic automakers, and has become the world's first company to launch autonomous driving travel services (Robotaxi) in both China and the United States. As of February 2021, the company's total financing exceeded US$1.1 billion and its valuation exceeded US$5.3 billion, making it one of the most valuable autonomous driving companies in the world.