Robotaxis will be a common sight on the world’s streets within five years, predicted James Peng, founder and CEO of the Chinese autonomous driving firm Pony.ai. “I think the technology problem is pretty much already solved,” he said at the Fortune Leaders Forum in Macau on Sept. 8. “You’ll be able to hail a robotaxi just like a normal taxi.”
While Waymo dominates the robotaxi conversation in the U.S., Chinese robotaxi firms like Pony.ai are gaining ground almost everywhere else. Pony.ai, founded in 2016, runs commercial robotaxi services across Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Shanghai. The company now averages about 25 rides per day per vehicle.
