Pony AI has also entered into a partnership with Luxembourg-based mobility company Emile Weber, with the two working together to promote the development and deployment of autonomous vehicles and technologies.

Pony AI opened a European R&D center in Luxembourg in September to focus on exploring and developing cutting-edge areas of autonomous driving and launching customized solutions for the European market, the Chinese autonomous driving startup said today.

The company will promote autonomous driving technologies and products to Luxembourg and Europe as a whole based on the R&D center, and carry out cooperation activities, it said in an announcement.

This is the latest development after Pony AI signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on autonomous driving with the Luxembourg government in March this year.

In addition, Pony AI signed an MoU with Luxembourg-based mobility company Emile Weber on October 23, which will see the two companies collaborate to promote the development and deployment of autonomous vehicles and technologies.

Emile Weber is a Luxembourg-based integrated mobility service provider with more than 150 years of operating history, and its main business includes the provision of public and personal transportation services, cab operations, vehicle rental, and tourism services, according to the announcement.

Pony AI and Emile Weber have agreed that autonomous driving will play a key role in Luxembourg's future transportation ecosystem, the Chinese startup said.

The partnership is an important part of Pony AI's globalization strategy, which will bring autonomous driving technology capabilities, engineering experience and product systems to more markets by joining hands with industry partners, its co-founder and CEO Peng Jun said.

Pony AI currently has R&D centers in China, the US, and Europe, the company said, adding that it is ramping up its overseas presence as L4 autonomous driving technology as well as robotaxi and robotruck business models mature.

In addition to Luxembourg, Pony AI has autonomous driving operations in South Korea, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Pony AI filed an initial public offering (IPO) prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last week, and plans to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol PONY.

The startup, backed by Toyota and Nio Capital, has received seven rounds of funding totaling more than $1.3 billion before its planned IPO.

Chinese self-driving startup Pony AI files for US IPO