Pony AI Inc, a Chinese robotaxi company with some of its operations in Silicon Valley, California, has priced its initial public offer on New York's Nasdaq, giving it a potential debut market cap of just over US$4.5 billion.
This was in line with expectations from last week.
The Guangzhou-based startup said it could raise US$452.4 million from the IPO and private placements with various "strategic third-party investors".
Of this, US$260 million is being raised from the open offering, with 20 million American depositary shares (ADSs) issued at a price of $13 apiece to the public.
If there is enough demand, another three million more ADSs could be offered by the investment banks and brokers, including the Asia arms of Goldman Sachs, Bank of America's Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, plus Huatai Securities and Tiger Brokers, that are underwriting the IPO.
The strategic investors, who have agreed to purchase approximately US$153.4 million worth of ordinary shares, include Guangzhou Nansha Chicheng Future Industry Investment Fund Partnership, Guangqipony Holdings Limited and Kechuangzhihang Holdings Limited, all private placements exempt from registration with the US SEC.
The IPO comes two years after China's Didi Global delisted from New York amid a backlash from regulators in China.
Pony.ai began regular fully driverless testing on public roads in Fremont and Milpitas in California in 2021.