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Chinese driverless car startup Pony.ai has raised $267 million in its Series C round of funding, bringing its total valuation to $5.3 billion, the company said on Friday.

The latest fundraising, mainly from Teachers’ Innovation Platform (TIP) of Canada's Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP) , has made it one of the most promising independent startups in autonomous driving. 

“Pony.ai is approaching its mission of delivering autonomous mobility everywhere by building technology that allows vehicles to drive safely on public roads,” said Pony.ai CEO James Peng. “With new investments that support our growth and deepened partnerships with our existing investors, we are quickly advancing toward future mobility and bringing autonomous vehicle technology to the global market.”

“We see a significant global opportunity for autonomous vehicle technology,” said Olivia Steedman, Senior Managing Director, TIP, at Ontario Teachers’. “Pony.ai’s leading technology and deep, strategic understanding of the sector have helped to position the company as a leader in this space.”

“This is a milestone investment for our global TIP team,” said Ben Chan, Regional Managing Director, Asia Pacific, at Ontario Teachers’. “We are very excited to be part of Pony.ai’s growth story across the globe.”

Since its establishment in December 2016, Pony.ai has been committed to revolutionizing the future of transportation by building safe and reliable solutions for autonomous mobility. The company partners with top global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to standardize and commercialize autonomous technology.

Pony.ai has been offering its Robotaxi services to the general public in major cities across the U.S. and China, serving thousands of riders – and covering more than 3.5 million kilometers autonomously – since 2018. Pony.ai is also working closely with OEMs, tier-ones, and logistic companies to develop robotruck solutions targeting the long-haul logistics market.

“We are honored to welcome new partners to join our mission of delivering autonomous mobility on a global scale by building safe and reliable self-driving vehicle technology,” added Mr. Peng.