Pony.ai Q&A: Having a China background will be key to autonomous driving success

2050 aims to equip young people to take action and to become volunteers. Ahead of the event in May, we are taking a look at some the companies and people who are taking part in the massive unconference. 2050 is a volunteer-only, not-for-profit unconference. TechNode is organizing the Explore Expo, an exhibition area for young tech startups looking for exposure.

In January 2018, Pony.ai got $112 million in Series A funding only 1 year after its inception. This is enough funding to make it instantly a serious contender in the sector anywhere in the world. The two founders James Peng and Lou Tiancheng have backgrounds at both Baidu and Google’s autonomous driving projects.

Pony.ai (小马智行) is developing cars capable of Level 4 autonomous driving. That means fully self-driving, with no human input. Fully autonomous testing started on the Nansha island in Guangzhou this February, the first time on public roads in China. The company also signed a deal with Guangzhou Automotive Group, the country’s number two car maker.

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