PONY.US (PONY.US)'s US IPO hits “the world's first Robotaxi stock”

The Zhitong Finance App learned that less than a week after Tesla (TSLA.US) completely detonated the Robotaxi industry, China's leading autonomous driving company Pony Zhixing announced an IPO in the US, impacting “the world's first Robotaxi stock.”

In the early morning of October 18, Beijing time, PONY.US (PONY.US) officially submitted an IPO prospectus to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It plans to be listed on the NASDAQ under the stock code “PONY”. Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, and Huatai Securities acted as lead underwriters. According to the China Securities Regulatory Commission's overseas listing filing, Little Ma Zhixing plans to issue no more than 98.1495 million common shares.

According to reports, My Little Pony Zhixing was founded in 2016 to provide autonomous driving technology and solutions in the field of travel and logistics to the global market, and to develop “virtual driver” technology that can be applied to different models and application scenarios. According to the prospectus, at present, the total road test mileage of Little Ma Zhixing's autonomous driving has accumulated nearly 40 million kilometers.

Based on “virtual driver” technology, Little Pony Zhixing's revenue comes from autonomous driving travel services (Robotaxis), autonomous trucks (Robotrucks), technology licensing and application services. It is a global leader in large-scale commercialization of autonomous driving, and is reflected in the prospectus as growing revenue performance over the years.

According to the prospectus, in 2022, 2023, and the first half of 2024, My Little Pony Zhixing's revenue scale was 68.39 million US dollars, 71.9 million US dollars, and 24.72 million US dollars respectively, with cumulative revenue exceeding 165 million US dollars (about 1.2 billion yuan). It is currently the L4 autonomous driving company with the highest domestic revenue scale. Among them, the revenue scale for the first half of 2024 increased by 101.2% year-on-year.

Specifically, in terms of autonomous driving services (Robotaxi), My Little Pony has entered the stage of commercial hematopoiesis. According to the prospectus, Little Pony Zhixing is one of the few companies in the world that has achieved fully driverless technology and is leading the mass production and commercialization process of Robotaxi. It is the first domestic company to obtain a robotaxi license (Robotaxi) in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. Currently, it operates a fleet of over 250 driverless taxis. Among them, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen have begun commercial charging for all driverless services.

My Little Pony Zhixing launched the first Robotaxi service in China at the end of 2018. As of June 30, 2024, the number of registered users of the “PonyPilot (PonyPilot)” mobile app exceeded 220,000. As of August 31, 2024, approximately 70% of users have used the service multiple times. In addition, My Little Pony Zhixing is also connected to third-party ride-hailing platforms such as Gaode Map, Alipay, and Ruqi Travel. As of June 30, 2024, the average number of orders for each Little Pony Zhixing unmanned Robotaxi per day exceeded 15.

Currently, My Little Pony Zhixing is also fully cooperating with many mainstream car manufacturers such as Toyota, Guangzhou Automobile, FAW, SAIC Motor, and Sany to jointly promote autonomous vehicle research and development. Among them, My Little Pony has cooperated with Toyota in the field of Robotaxi for six years, with remarkable results. In August 2019, My Little Pony and Toyota officially announced a strategic partnership to begin research and development of the first Robotaxi model. In April 2024, My Little Pony Zhixing established a joint venture with Toyota China and GAC Toyota to invest more than 1 billion yuan to jointly promote mass production and service implementation of autonomous taxis. According to reports, the joint venture is carrying out joint R&D and production plans for the first Platinum 4X Robotaxi model. Production preparations have already begun. It is expected that from 2025 to 2026, more than 1,000 Robotaxis will be launched in first-tier cities.

In terms of autonomous trucks (Robotrucks), My Little Pony is operating a fleet of more than 190 autonomous trucks, including self-operated and cooperative operation with Sinotrans, China's largest freight logistics company. The fleet has accumulated about 5 million kilometers of autonomous driving mileage. Over the course of its commercial operation, it has transported more than 767 million tons and kilometers. At the same time, My Little Pony is also cooperating with Sany Group to jointly develop an L4 class autonomous truck.

According to information, Little Pony Zhixing has established cooperation with top car manufacturers such as Toyota, Guangzhou Automobile, SAIC Motor, FAW, and Sany, as well as leading upstream and downstream companies such as Nvidia, Sinotrans, and Ruqi Chuxing. It is the first autonomous driving company in China to obtain a license to operate taxi transportation and a license to operate freight road transport.

The net loss gradually narrows, which is one of the financial highlights of My Little Pony Smart Bank. According to the prospectus, from 2022 to 2023, My Little Pony Zhixing's net loss before adjustments was US$148 million and US$125 million, respectively. In the first half of 2024, My Little Pony lost $51.78 million before adjustment, a year-on-year decrease of 25.6%.

As of June 30, 2024, the total amount of cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and restricted cash was US$473 million (approximately RMB 3.437 billion). The capital is sufficient, which can guarantee the safe and stable operation of the company for about 5 years.

Before the IPO, My Little Pony experienced 7 rounds of financing, involving more than 1.3 billion US dollars. In addition to state-owned enterprises such as China Merchants Capital, top car companies such as Toyota Motor Corporation and FAW Group, the investors behind it also included well-known VCs such as Sequoia China, IDG Capital, Wuyuan Capital, CPE Yuanfeng, Fidelity Capital, and Carlyle Investment Group, as well as capital support from the Middle East. Toyota is the strategic investor with the highest shareholding ratio, and Sequoia is the earliest financial investor with the highest shareholding ratio.

While being favored by overseas capital, My Little Pony Zhixing is gradually expanding its overseas layout. On July 31, 2024, My Little Pony and Singaporean taxi operator Comfort High Group signed a memorandum of cooperation to jointly promote large-scale commercial operation of driverless taxis. Previously, My Little Pony also collaborated on autonomous driving technology and implementation in South Korea, Luxembourg, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The industry believes that the global autonomous driving market has broad prospects. According to Frost & Sullivan (Frost & Sullivan) forecasts, with technological advancements, a favorable regulatory environment, and cost efficiency improvements, Robotaxi services will be commercialized around 2026, gaining a significant share of the global mobility market. Robotaxi's global market is expected to reach 290 million US dollars in 2025, reach a further 66.6 billion US dollars by 2030, and reach 352.6 billion US dollars in 2035. Furthermore, China is expected to become the largest Robotaxi market, and its market size is expected to reach US$200 million and US$39 billion in 2025 and 2030, accounting for about 58.5% of the global autonomous mobility services market in 2030.