Travis Kalanick is trying to buy Pony.ai — and Uber might help

Travis Kalanick, the founder of Uber, is exploring the possibility of acquiring the U.S. division of Pony.ai, a Chinese company specializing in autonomous vehicles, as reported by The New York Times. Kalanick is said to be collaborating with various investors to secure the necessary funding for the purchase, and there are indications that Uber may assist in facilitating the deal. Pony.ai made its public debut last year, boasting a market capitalization of approximately $4.5 billion prior to the latest reports. The company has been strategically preparing its U.S. operations for a potential sale or spinoff since 2022, which included the development of a modified version of its source code. Should Kalanick succeed in acquiring Pony.ai, it would mark his return to the autonomous vehicle sector for the first time since his departure from Uber in 2017. At that time, Uber was heavily invested in its own self-driving technology. However, a tragic incident in 2018, where one of its autonomous vehicles struck and killed a pedestrian in Arizona, significantly impacted the company's trajectory. Following Kalanick’s exit, his successor, Dara Khosrowshahi, opted to sell Uber’s self-driving unit to Aurora, a startup focused on autonomous trucking, while taking a more collaborative approach by partnering with companies like Waymo. In recent years, Kalanick has shifted his focus towards robotics through his venture, CloudKitchens, although he would continue to oversee day-to-day operations of that company if he successfully acquires Pony.ai. During a recent event, Kalanick reflected on Uber's past, noting that when he left, the company was “really only behind Waymo but probably catching up.” This commentary comes in light of the legal disputes that arose between Uber and Waymo over trade secrets related to autonomous vehicles, which were eventually settled. Kalanick also expressed some regret about the loss of Uber's autonomous ride-sharing capabilities, stating, “I wish we had an autonomous ride-sharing product right now. That would be great.”