Pony.ai, a leading self-driving technology company headquartered in Silicon Valley, announced that it has received approval to conduct driverless tests on public roads in the Chinese capital, Beijing. Pony.ai is one of two self-driving software companies to receive this important license in Beijing.

Before obtaining this Beijing driverless test license, Pony.ai was one of the first companies to obtain a license to conduct tests on some sections of the Beijing expressway in July 2021.

Pony.ai has now been approved to conduct driverless tests in an area of ​​about 20 square kilometers in the Beijing Autonomous Driving Demonstration Zone. The area covers several important subway stations, residential areas and technology parks, allowing Pony.ai to test its autonomous driving technology in extremely challenging road conditions.

Zhang Ning, Vice President of Pony.ai and Head of Beijing R&D Center, said: “Pony.ai is progressing smoothly in building a safe and reliable ‘virtual driver’, paving the way for large-scale deployment in the future. Obtaining a driverless test license It is a strong proof of Pony.ai’s leading position in the autonomous driving industry.”

The acquisition of this license also enables Pony.ai to achieve another key milestone on its road to commercialization and mass deployment. The company received approval in June to conduct driverless tests in California and Guangzhou, China. Pony.ai is the first company to deploy fully driverless vehicles on public roads in two of the world’s most dynamic mobility markets, and is now in its third driverless city in the world.