Pony.ai self-driving vehicles operate alongside a highway for the duration of a demo operate on February 1, 2018 in Guangzhou, China.
VCG | Visual China Group | Getty Images
GUANGZHOU, China — Driverless auto organization Pony.ai has hired Lawrence Steyn, currently vice chairman of investment banking at JPMorgan, to be its very first chief economical officer.
The commence-up, which has functions in the U.S. and China, mentioned Steyn’s selecting will support the company with “industrial progress and world-wide deployment.”
When start out-ups employ the service of CFOs, it can typically hint towards an original public presenting down the line.
Pony.ai declined to comment when contacted by CNBC about a likely IPO.
In November, Pony.ai lifted $267 million, valuing it at $5.3 billion. The enterprise is a competitor to the likes of Waymo, the self-driving vehicle subsidiary of Google guardian company Alphabet.
Pony.ai can make autonomous driving systems that it can promote to automakers. It has been screening so-referred to as robotaxis or driverless taxis in California and the southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou.
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Previously this year, Pony.ai received a permit from the California Division of Motor Vehicles to examination fully autonomous cars with out the need for a security driver. Pony.ai options to roll out its fully driverless robotaxi company to the normal community in 2022 in Irvine, California.
Presently, Pony.ai’s robotaxi assistance is offered to the basic general public in Guangzhou and Irvine, but there is a security driver.
Steyn will sign up for the workforce to “lead the charge in deploying complete autonomy at scale,” Pony.ai reported in a press release.