At the "Salute to the Chinese Economy - Entrepreneurs' Night 2025" gala held in Beijing on January 29, Pony.ai founder and CEO Peng Jun was honored for his contributions. Hongtai Fund founder and chairman Sheng Xitai and Sequoia China partner Zhou Kui presented the award.
The tribute described him as a "global leader in the autonomous driving revolution," highlighting his journey from a top Silicon Valley engineer to a pioneering entrepreneur who initiated L4 autonomous driving tests on Chinese streets. His philosophy of "gathering people through endeavors and achieving success through people" guided his team to turn the ideal of self-driving cars navigating city streets into reality. With an engineer's precision in refining code and an entrepreneur's foresight in strategic planning, he has helped China's autonomous driving systems gain a voice in global competition.
Zhou Kui remarked that Pony.ai's decade-long commitment to the robotaxi model involved significant risk, reflecting an entrepreneur who entered the new economy early and maintained extreme focus.
Sheng Xitai expressed that autonomous driving will undoubtedly elevate the automotive industry to a new level within the next five years. He noted that Pony.ai is the most advanced domestic company in this field and wished them continued success.
In his acceptance speech, Peng Jun expressed that receiving this honor was deeply gratifying, especially with Zhou Kui and Sheng Xitai personally presenting the award. He thanked the organizers for their recognition and all guests for witnessing the moment. He reflected that Pony.ai, founded a decade ago, has honed its skills over ten years. More than two years ago, the company launched fully driverless commercial operations in China's four major first-tier cities. Peng attributed today's achievements to the team's decade of collective effort and persistence, as well as the highly supportive environment for innovation.
He stated that this favorable climate has enabled a cohort of entrepreneurs, including those at Zhipu and technology-driven startups like Pony.ai, to shine brilliantly.
Peng Jun pointed out that Pony.ai's enduring vision is to use autonomous driving to make transportation genuinely safer, more convenient, and more efficient, thereby improving everyone's quality of life. He expressed the hope that in the near future, Pony.ai vehicles will become commonplace in thousands of households, visible on all roads, making everyone's travel experience better.
The following is a transcript of the speeches:
Zhou Kui: Congratulations, Mr. Peng! I have two observations. I first met Mr. Peng ten years ago in Silicon Valley, a brief encounter. Later, when he sought investment, we had the opportunity to invest. Furthermore, in the realm of autonomous driving a decade ago, they persistently pursued the robotaxi model, which carried enormous risk. This reflects an entrepreneur who entered the new economy early and maintained extreme focus. That's the first point.
Secondly, the company is named "Pony.ai," and coincidentally, this is the Year of the Horse, which seems like good fortune. This luck is validated by Pony and shared with everyone today. The company listed in Hong Kong at the end of last year, stock code 2026. So, congratulations again to Mr. Peng and Pony.
Host Li Xiang: Thank you.
Sheng Xitai: The transformation of the automotive industry led by Ford in the 1940s, through assembly line production, revolutionized the entire sector. In the next five years, autonomous driving will undoubtedly elevate the automotive industry to a new level. Pony.ai is the most leading domestic company in this field. I offer my blessings and wish them continued success.
Host: The three guests please come to the center of the stage for this collective moment. Please look forward! Now is the moment for applause.
Thank you to the two honored witnesses. Please return to your seats to continue viewing the ceremony. Mr. Peng, please stay for the honorary photo.
Thank you! Now, let's hear your current feelings.
Peng Jun: Receiving this honor today is truly heartening, especially with Mr. Zhou and Mr. Sheng personally presenting the award. I first want to thank the organizers for their recognition and all the guests for witnessing this moment. As Mr. Zhou mentioned, Pony.ai was founded ten years ago; we have honed our skills over a decade. More than two years ago, we actually began fully driverless commercial operations in China's four major first-tier cities. Pony.ai's development to this point is thanks to the collective efforts and decade-long persistence of the entire team, and crucially, it is also due to the extremely supportive environment for innovation we operate within.
Therefore, under this favorable macro climate, a batch of entrepreneurs, including those at Zhipu and technology-driven startups like ours, have been able to shine brilliantly.
Pony.ai's consistent vision has been to use autonomous driving to genuinely make our transportation safer, more convenient, and more efficient, thereby improving all our lives. So, our vision is also that in the near future, Pony.ai vehicles will enter thousands of households, will be seen on all roads, making everyone's travel better.
Okay, thank you all!
Host Li Xiang: Thank you. I have a question for Mr. Peng. I think many boys, when they were young, probably had all sorts of fanciful imaginations. Those born in the 70s, 80s, and 90s grew up watching movies and likely dreamed of one day building a car that could run without being driven. You must have had many unrealistic fantasies as a child, some of which might now be reality. What aspects of what Pony.ai is doing today actually exceed those bold childhood fantasies of boys?
Peng Jun: I think everyone, while driving or even as a passenger, especially during traffic jams, uncomfortable driving conditions, fatigue, or after drinking, has wished for a true AI driver to safely take them home. I believe this is a universal fantasy. As Mr. Zhou mentioned earlier, ten years ago we felt this was a very worthwhile pursuit. Honestly, it was unclear when it could be achieved back then. But what is particularly gratifying is that through step-by-step progress, we have now begun implementation in many cities. This is essentially the fulfillment of a childhood dream.
Host Li Xiang: Yes, you're absolutely right. Fulfilling a dream isn't about suddenly having a magic door to pass through; it's about daily, incremental accumulation. Next, let's direct our attention to the screen beside us. We will take everyone back to the beginning of Pony.ai, using a series of images to tell the story. Mr. Peng, please share the stories behind these photos. Fortunately, each has a year and some brief descriptions.
Peng Jun: First, you can see we also started in a garage, initially founded around a dining table, truly driven by a dream as we said.
Host Li Xiang: Ten years ago.
Peng Jun: We didn't know what would happen. You can see our humble initial office environment, then step-by-step development, obtaining the Beijing license, the deployment of the first autonomous fleet, our expansion into trucks, subsequent partnerships with GAC and BAIC for mass production, and the final photo shows our unmanned vehicles participating in last year's National Games torch relay. So, these photos offer glimpses, just a small part, but they trace the journey over time. Looking at these photos now evokes many emotions.
Host Li Xiang: Especially ten years ago. You repeatedly emphasized "garage startup," the very简陋 (simple) entrepreneurial environment. We can even see what looks like a kitchen not far from your office space?
Peng Jun: Yes.
Host Li Xiang: Yet, everyone's face is lit up, filled with the determination and confidence of imagining a dream. Fast forward from all those years to just two or three months ago, when you escorted the National Games torch. At that moment, the dreams of these five not-so-young-anymore individuals were realized. Sometimes, when we are in such an environment and look around, we realize life is short. But when transformed into daily accumulation, life becomes truly wondrous. Congratulations again to you and your team. We hope your future work brings us even more unexpected surprises. Now, I'd like everyone to experience Pony.ai further, as we have a special arrangement today – a first-person perspective ride in a real Pony.ai autonomous driving scenario. Even Mr. Peng isn't fully aware; this is his surprise.
Please watch. Mr. Li, are you there?
Li Lintao: Hello, host.
Host Li Xiang: Hello.
Li Lintao: Can you hear me?
Host Li Xiang: Hello, Mr. Li. Please introduce yourself to everyone.
Li Lintao: I am Li Lintao from Pony.ai. I'm currently sitting inside our company's latest generation autonomous vehicle. As you can see, we are navigating the streets of Yizhuang during the evening rush hour.
Host Li Xiang: There's really no one in the front seats.
Li Lintao: Everyone can see the steering wheel and the driver's seat are unmanned.
Host Li Xiang: How does it feel for you right now?
Li Lintao: For me, it's quite routine, as this is part of our daily life – commuting via autonomous vehicles.
Host Li Xiang: We just confirmed no one is in the driver's seat. Mr. Li is actually the Deputy General Manager of Pony.ai's Beijing R&D Center. He's sitting in his workplace. Intelligent driving, autonomous driving, should offer more than just the simple convenience of not driving oneself. What unexpected changes could it bring to our lives? Can you elaborate?
Li Lintao: You're absolutely right; it's certainly more than just not driving. A crucial aspect autonomous driving brings is enhanced safety, which has always been a core design philosophy for Pony.ai – "safety first." Therefore, our vehicles incorporate multiple layers of safety redundancy mechanisms and thousands of real-time monitoring systems.
Host Li Xiang: Mr. Li, any further additions? The signal near the Third Ring Road seems a bit unstable.
Li Lintao: It enables highly efficient travel on highways or urban roads. We also hope to continue...
Host Li Xiang: That's unrelated to us; it's an issue with a certain major telecom company.
Li Lintao: ...With technological iterations, we aim to rapidly advance this technology towards commercial deployment, allowing more people to experience safe and efficient travel.
Host Li Xiang: I need to ask a question on behalf of many viewers. You know, many people, even young friends around me, are curious: if we encounter extreme weather, like heavy rain or strong winds, or on seemingly empty roads where a pedestrian or cyclist suddenly appears, can intelligent driving really be safer and more reliable than human driving in such emergencies?
Li Lintao: Yes, I can assure you on this point. This is a core advantage of our L4-level autonomous driving. Pony.ai relies on our PonyWorld world model, employing core virtual driver technology. We have become one of the few companies globally capable of achieving normalized operations. Additionally, we utilize multi-sensor fusion technology, including satellite and inertial navigation. We employ lidar, 4D imaging radar, cameras, and other technologies to achieve 360-degree environmental perception. This is more sensitive than human eyes and ears, enabling our driver to react faster and successfully handle adverse weather conditions like heavy rain and dense fog.
Host Li Xiang: I think I understand roughly. It's similar to what I sometimes tell my friends: I say, rest assured, we have two eyes; they have hundreds. Our reaction time might be 1 second or 0.5 seconds; theirs is 0.000001 seconds. So we get it. Thank you for sharing.
The New Year is approaching. Finally, please send your blessings to all our friends.
Li Lintao: First, of course, congratulations to all the award-winning business leaders today. I also wish today's event smooth progress and complete success. On behalf of Pony.ai, I wish everyone a Happy New Year, family happiness, and hope that in the new year, everyone stays safe and everything goes smoothly. Thank you for your attention and support for the autonomous driving industry. In the new year, we will work with all industry peers to promote the sector's development, contribute to the Chinese economy, and salute the Chinese economy.
Host Li Xiang: Okay, thank you, Mr. Li. We send all blessings to you and your colleagues. Thank you.
Mr. Peng, after that exchange, your role is particularly special because this is a first-time experience for all of us. What are your feelings?
Peng Jun: Actually, for us, this is very routine.
Host Li Xiang: It's your office.
Peng Jun: I usually commute using our unmanned vehicles. I also hope everyone gets the chance to visit Yizhuang, Guangzhou, or especially Shennan, Bao'an District in Shenzhen – our vehicles are already on the streets everywhere. So, welcome everyone to experience it. Thank you!
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