Pony AI Inc. (PONY) shares jumped 8.82% to $13.70 in premarket trading Tuesday after announcing that its Gen-7 robotaxis have reached city-wide unit economics breakeven. This is the kind of milestone that autonomous vehicle investors have been waiting for: proof that robot taxis can actually make money, not just burn through cash while driving around empty.
The breakeven achievement creates a foundation for scalable growth across China and potentially international markets. Daily average orders per vehicle have climbed to 23, powered by strong user demand and increasingly efficient operations. When your robot taxis are completing nearly two dozen rides per day, you're moving beyond novelty and into real transportation utility.
Full Driverless Operations Expanding
Pony AI officially launched Gen-7 robotaxis with fully driverless operations in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Beijing. These aren't vehicles with safety drivers sitting behind the wheel—they're genuinely autonomous. New user registrations nearly doubled within a week of launch and generated notable social media buzz, suggesting consumers are actually willing to trust these vehicles.
The Gen-7 fleet features optimized acceleration, braking, and steering designed to deliver smooth, natural motion. The company says it's made marked improvements in emergency handling, which matters quite a bit when you're removing the human backup entirely. In-cabin enhancements include "smart repositioning" technology and a voice-activated "Popo Voice Assistant" that handles trip initiation and climate control.
Pony AI currently operates 961 robotaxis, including 667 Gen-7 units. The company projects it will exceed 1,000 vehicles by year-end and reach 3,000 by 2026. That's aggressive expansion, but apparently the economics now support it.
Costs Coming Down, Revenue Going Up
Bill-of-materials costs for 2026 Gen-7 autonomous driving kits are down 20% compared to 2025 models. Getting hardware costs down while maintaining performance is crucial for any business trying to scale robotaxis profitably. Meanwhile, advanced AI systems and fleet management tools are maintaining high vehicle utilization and efficient remote-assistant support.
The company reported third-quarter fiscal 2025 revenue growth of 72% year-over-year to $25.4 million. Adjusted loss per share narrowed significantly to 14 cents from a loss of $3.50 in the year-ago quarter. That's substantial progress toward overall profitability.
Robotaxi revenues climbed 89.5% year-over-year in the third quarter, with fare-charging revenue jumping over 200% year-over-year. Fare-charging revenue—actual paying customers, not research partnerships—was driven by strong demand in tier-one cities and ongoing fleet operation and pricing optimizations.
The Technology Advantage
Dr. Tiancheng Lou, Chief Technology Officer of Pony.ai, explained the company's technical edge: "Our early move to adopt the world model has become a clear technological advantage. PonyWorld combines high-fidelity simulation, the ability to reproduce corner cases, and an artificial intelligence based learning evaluator, enabling unsupervised and self-improving closed-loop training. This is the key to building our strong moat, and Gen-7 Robotaxi turns that technological edge into commercial efficiency."
Translation: Pony AI built sophisticated simulation systems that let its AI learn from rare and difficult driving scenarios without needing those exact situations to occur in real life. The AI can essentially practice handling edge cases millions of times in simulation, then apply those lessons when operating actual vehicles.
Strategic Partnerships
On Monday, Pony AI unveiled a deeper collaboration with Sunlight Mobility to advance an asset-light operating model. This approach could allow the company to expand its robotaxi service footprint without bearing the full capital cost of vehicle ownership—think of it as the Uber model applied to autonomous vehicles.