Uber in Talks to Fund Travis Kalanick's Potential Acquisition of Pony AI's US Division

Uber in Talks to Fund Kalanick Bid to Buy Pony AI Unit, NYT Says

Uber Technologies Inc. is in talks with founder Travis Kalanick to help fund his acquisition of the US arm of Chinese self-driving firm Pony AI Inc., the New York Times reported. Shares of both companies jumped in Thursday trading. The talks are preliminary, according to the Times, citing two unnamed people. Kalanick would run Pony if the deal is completed while continuing to lead his current company, CloudKitchens, the report cited the people as saying. Financial details of the potential transaction were not known, the report said.

Pony.ai Surges On Report Of Uber-Travis Kalanick Deal Talks - Pony AI (NASDAQ:PONY)

Pony AI Inc PONY shares popped ahead of the close on Thursday and are continuing to move higher in after-hours following reports that Uber Technologies Inc UBER is in talks to help fund a takeover deal with the company. What To Know: The New York Times reported Thursday afternoon that Uber is in discussions with its co-founder Travis Kalanick, who departed Uber eight years ago, to help fund a potential acquisition of the U.S. division of Pony AI. Two people with knowledge of the matter reportedly said the talks are preliminary, but would result in Kalanick running Pony AI if completed. Financial details were not shared and it's not clear if Uber would play a role beyond being an investor. The report indicates that if a deal is reached, Kalanick would work more closely with Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, while continuing to run his virtual restaurant startup CloudKitchens. Pony AI had a market cap of $4.62 billion as of Thursday's close. The stock has risen approximately 43% over the past three months as broader self-driving initiatives continue to accelerate. Uber announced a strategic partnership to deploy Pony AI's robotaxis on the Uber platform last month. The partnership is expected to launch in the Middle East later this year, with plans to expand to additional international markets in the future. Uber also announced earlier this week that it began offering autonomous ride options with Waymo in Atlanta exclusively on the Uber app. The companies launched autonomous ride-hailing in Austin in March after entering into a partnership in September last year. Competition in the autonomous space is starting to pick up. Tesla officially launched robotaxi rides on Sunday in Austin through a "successful" invitation-only event, CEO Elon Musk said on X. PONY Price Action: Pony AI shares closed Thursday up 11.98% at $14.58. The stock was up another 0.89% in after-hours, trading at $14.71 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro. Read Next: Robotaxi Roll Out: Tesla, Uber And Waymo Take Diverging Roads To Autonomy Photo: Michael Vi/Shutterstock.com PONYPony AI Inc$14.7213.1%Stock Score Locked: Edge Members Only Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Unlock RankingsEdge RankingsMomentumNot AvailableGrowthNot AvailableQualityNot AvailableValue7.93Price TrendShortMediumLongOverviewUBERUber Technologies Inc$93.102.42%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Pony AI Stock Surges 25% This Week: What's Going On? - Pony AI (NASDAQ:PONY)

Get ahead of Wall Street reactions -- Benzinga Pro delivers signals, squawk, and news fast. Now 60% off this 4th of July. Shares of autonomous driving company Pony AI Inc PONY are surging this week, driven by reports of a potential takeover deal involving Uber Technologies Inc UBER and its co-founder, Travis Kalanick. The preliminary talks would reportedly result in Kalanick running Pony AI, though financial details and Uber's ultimate role remain unclear. What Else: This news compounded an already positive week for the company. On Monday, Pony AI was added to the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index, a key benchmark for U.S.-listed Chinese firms. The inclusion, which makes Pony AI the only pure-play autonomous vehicle company on the index, sent shares soaring nearly 17% on Monday. The combination of the index inclusion and takeover speculation has investors buzzing. This follows last month's partnership announcement with Uber to deploy robotaxis, highlighting the company's rapid advancements. The potential for Kalanick to re-engage with the Uber ecosystem he helped build could add a compelling dimension to the future of the autonomous driving landscape. Price Action: PONY shares are trading higher by 25% to $14.55 this week. The stock has a 52-week high of $23.88 and a 52-week low of $4.11. Read Also: Pony.ai Begins Testing Futuristic Robotaxis In China, Mass Rollout Could Be Next How To Buy PONY Stock Besides going to a brokerage platform to purchase a share - or fractional share - of stock, you can also gain access to shares either by buying an exchange traded fund (ETF) that holds the stock itself, or by allocating yourself to a strategy in your 401(k) that would seek to acquire shares in a mutual fund or other instrument. For example, in Pony AI's case, it is in the Information Technology sector. An ETF will likely hold shares in many liquid and large companies that help track that sector, allowing an investor to gain exposure to the trends within that segment. Image: Shutterstock PONYPony AI Inc $14.05-3.60% Stock Score Locked: Want to See it? Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Reveal Full Score Edge Rankings Momentum Not Available Growth Not Available Quality Not Available Value 7.44 Price Trend Short Medium Long Overview UBERUber Technologies Inc $90.23-3.10% Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs