Pony AI (NASDAQ:PONY) reported a sharp increase in first-quarter 2026 revenue and raised its full-year robotaxi targets, citing faster user adoption, fleet growth and expanding international partnerships.
Chairman and CEO Dr. James Peng said total revenue rose 145% year over year in the quarter, while robotaxi revenue increased nearly 400%. He said fare-charging revenue, a key measure of commercial robotaxi usage, grew more than 450% from the prior-year period.
“We kicked off 2026 with an amazing first quarter,” Peng said. “This strong start defines our growth momentum for the whole year.”
The company said its robotaxi fleet has grown to more than 1,700 vehicles, while registered users in China increased more than 200% year over year. Peng also said weekly average paid orders so far in May were up more than 100% compared with the beginning of the year.
Robotaxi Expansion Drives Results
Pony.ai’s robotaxi business was the central focus of management’s remarks. CFO Dr. Leo Wang said robotaxi revenue reached a record $8.6 million in the first quarter, compared with $1.7 million in the same period of 2025. Fare-charging revenue grew 456%, supported by a larger fleet, regional expansion and demand in high-value urban areas.
Management highlighted continued expansion in major Chinese cities. Peng said Pony.ai has broadened its Guangzhou operations from the Nansha and Panyu districts into Haizhu District, which includes areas such as Canton Tower, the Pazhou central business district and the Canton Fair Complex. In Shenzhen, the company is increasing fleet size and density in Nansha and Baoan districts. It is also providing airport transfer services in Beijing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.
Wang said Pony.ai’s effective fare per kilometer remains above entry-level ride-hailing prices and is comparable to standard express-tier services after discounts. He said demand has remained strong despite that pricing level, particularly during peak hours and in traffic-heavy downtown areas.
The company also emphasized progress in its joint deployment model, under which partners help support fleet deployment. Wang said the model has begun contributing “meaningful revenues” from both domestic and overseas partners and could allow more efficient use of capital.
Company Raises 2026 Targets
Based on the first-quarter performance, Pony.ai raised several full-year business targets. Peng said the company now expects to surpass 3,500 vehicles by year-end, up from a prior target of 3,000. It also raised its 2026 robotaxi revenue growth target to more than 3.5 times 2025 levels, compared with its prior target of tripling revenue.
The company also expects to expand its operating footprint to more than 20 cities domestically and internationally this year.
During the Q&A session, Wang said the upward revision reflected stronger-than-expected momentum in paid orders, users and revenue in China’s Tier 1 cities. He also said unit economics in Guangzhou and Shenzhen had reached a breakeven milestone, which he described as a proven case for potential joint deployment partners.
Financial Results and Margins
Wang said first-quarter revenue totaled $34.3 million, up from $14 million a year earlier. The growth was driven by a 395% increase in robotaxi revenue and a 246% increase in the intelligent solutions segment.
Robotruck service revenue rose 31% to $10.2 million from $7.8 million in the first quarter of 2025. Wang said growth was supported by additional trucks and a more diversified client base in long-haul logistics.
The intelligent solutions segment, formerly called licensing and applications, generated $15.5 million in revenue, up from $4.5 million a year earlier. Management said the increase was mainly driven by strong sales of autonomous domain controllers, including deployments in low-speed delivery applications.
Total cost of revenue was $28.7 million, producing a gross margin of 16.2%. Operating expenses were $63.9 million, up 9.5% year over year. On a non-GAAP basis, operating expenses were $59.3 million, up 20.2%.
Pony.ai reported a loss from operations of $58.3 million, compared with $56 million in the prior-year quarter. Net loss was $53.5 million, compared with $37.4 million a year earlier. Wang said the wider net loss reflected investment income realized in the first quarter of 2025 and a modest increase in operating expenses. He said operating loss margin narrowed to negative 170% from negative 401% a year earlier, while net loss margin narrowed to negative 156% from negative 267%.
The company ended the quarter with $1.4 billion in cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, restricted cash and long-term debt instruments for wealth management. Wang said net cash used in operating activities was $774.2 million, compared with $54.2 million a year earlier, primarily due to higher accounts receivable tied to autonomous domain controller sales and an increase in non-GAAP operating loss.
Technology, Safety and Costs
CTO Dr. Tiancheng Lou said Pony.ai’s ability to operate in complex urban environments is based on three technical pillars: an “exceptional training paradigm,” fail-operational redundancy and fleet management. He said the company uses reinforcement learning and world models, rather than relying only on human driving data or larger model parameters.
Lou said every Pony.ai robotaxi has multi-layer hardware and software redundancy, allowing the vehicle to continue operating safely and pull over if a component fails. He also said the vehicles can operate without network or GPS signals and do not rely on high-definition maps.
Management also discussed cost reduction. Peng said the company debuted a 2027 domestic robotaxi version at the Beijing Auto Show, targeting bill-of-materials costs below RMB 230,000. Wang said Pony.ai remains on track to reach that level by mid-2027 through R&D, supplier negotiations and collaboration with OEMs.
International Expansion and Robotruck Plans
Pony.ai said it has established a presence in nine countries and started public robotaxi services in four overseas markets: Croatia, Qatar, Singapore and South Korea. Peng said the company launched what it described as Europe’s first commercial robotaxi service in Zagreb, Croatia, with local partners. In the Middle East, it is advancing fare-charging services in Doha and initiating fully driverless deployment in Dubai.
On robotrucks, Peng said the Gen-4 robotruck is slated for mass production in the second half of 2026, with pre-production vehicles already coming off the line. He also discussed the company’s Level 4 autonomous light truck, launched in April, saying it completes a key segment of Pony.ai’s logistics portfolio and shares a nearly identical software stack with the robotaxi platform. Peng said scaled operations for the light truck are expected to begin early next year.
Asked about regulation, Peng said policy discussions in China and overseas are focused primarily on safe robotaxi operations. He said current policy discussions have no direct impact on Pony.ai’s business and argued that higher safety standards could favor companies already operating at scale in dense urban environments.
About Pony AI (NASDAQ:PONY)
Pony.ai develops autonomous driving technologies for passenger and goods transportation. The company offers an end-to-end self-driving stack that combines perception, planning and control systems with proprietary hardware and software. Pony.ai’s solutions support robotaxi services and advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) deployments across urban and suburban environments.
Founded in late 2016 by James Peng and Sean Gong, Pony.ai operates research and development centers in Fremont, California, as well as in Guangzhou and Beijing, China.
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