Neom fund invests $100m in Pony.ai to advance self-driving vehicles in Mena

Collaboration will develop advanced vehicles and smart infrastructure in Neom and key regional markets

Pony.ai's entry into the Neom project is its latest expansion in the Middle East. Photo: Pony.ai

The Neom Investment Fund, a newly formed arm of Saudi Arabia's mega-city Neom, has invested $100 million in autonomous vehicles solutions company Pony.ai.

As part of the investment, a joint venture will be formed between Neom and California-based Pony.ai to develop, manufacture and deliver autonomous, or self-driving, vehicles and infrastructure, Neom said in a statement on Wednesday.

These will all be used in Neom and other key markets in Mena, it said.

The NIF's investment brings Pony.ai's total funding to $1.3 billion, giving it a unicorn (a start-up valued at more than $1 billion) status, data from start-up tracker Crunchbase shows.

The investment aligns with Neom's goals of providing sustainable and hyperconnected transport in the $500 billion development, Majid Mufti, chief executive of the NIF, said.

“Pony.ai’s autonomous driving technology is already available today and we are excited to be able to utilise it in Neom in the near future,” he said.

Pony.ai's entry into Neom is its latest expansion move in the region. Last week, it joined Abu Dhabi's new Smart and Autonomous Vehicles Industry cluster, where the company will be able to put its latest technologies on trial at the Yas Island testing zone.

Separately on Wednesday, the NIF also said it has become the single-largest investor in electric seaglider ground effect craft manufacturer Regent after closing an investment in a series A funding round for the US company.

The NIF and Regent did not disclose the value of the investment. Regent has secured $87 million over five funding rounds, Crunchbase data shows.

Regent is expected to “provide a fresh approach to coastal transportation in Neom, both passenger and freight, connecting key destinations along 468km of coastline, and reflect our belief in zero-carbon technologies,” said Terry Wong, executive director for land mobility at Neom.

Pony.ai and Regent were among those included in the first wave of companies in which the NIF has invested in to kick-off the fund's operations.

The other companies are aerospace company Boom Technology, aquaculture start-up BlueNalu and game software developer Animoca Brands.

More details on the investments in these companies are expected soon, the NIF said.

Self-driving vehicles are gaining momentum as they are considered a major part of society's transition into the next generation of transportation systems, with advanced technologies allowing them to run even with minimal human intervention.

They are considered a major component of the smart mobility market, which is the integration of advanced technology and data-driven solutions to create efficient, sustainable and user-centric transport systems.

The NIF was launched on Tuesday, counting the advancement of Neom and creating jobs in the Red Sea development among its goals.

It will focus on developing 14 priority sectors by investing globally through mergers and acquisitions and venture capital in technology start-ups, with a “clear focus on pioneering growth companies and next-generation industries”.

Neom is a major component of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 strategy, its major economic diversification programme in which technology is key.

Significant projects in the kingdom, the Arab world's biggest economy, have made moves to harness next-generation and emerging technologies.

The NIF will focus on developing investment for the private sector and will directly invest to develop solutions that would be piloted and grown at Neom, to be exported to other parts of the world.

It will develop joint ventures and partnerships with multinational companies, institutional investors and innovators within Neom, it said.

The fund will also be assuming the role of portfolio manager for Neom's sector assets and companies, which would “safeguard returns for the shareholder and investors through portfolio synergies and will underpin Neom's long-term financial sustainability”.

The NIF's strategy is designed to align Neom's development objectives with those of innovators and institutional investors, “de-risking opportunities for them to participate in creating core global growth businesses and a thriving economy” in the mega-city, Mr Mufti had said.