Fair Pay & Worker Respect

71% of employees would recommend Pony.ai to a friend, and 84% approve of the CEO.

Employee reviews highlight both positive aspects such as friendly colleagues, good perks, and fast-paced development, alongside negative aspects like a political environment, lack of transparency, poor management, and inconsistent treatment. Compensation and benefits are rated 3.9/5 by employees, while work-life balance is rated 3.6/5.

Honest & Fair Business

No specific, concrete evidence was found in the provided articles to assess Pony.ai against the defined KPIs for Honest & Fair Business. While one article mentions a securities class action investigation with allegations of false or misleading statements, this is an ongoing investigation and not a final regulatory fine, a financial restatement, or a score from a recognized transparency or controversy benchmark.

Therefore, no KPIs could be scored based on the available information.

Kind to Animals

Pony.ai is an autonomous driving technology company, and its core business model does not involve animal-derived products, animal testing, or animal agriculture.

Therefore, KPIs related to these activities are not applicable. The company's Robotaxis are programmed to make real-time decisions to ensure safe passage for road users, including wildlife, and to avoid harming animals. This is a product feature for operational safety, not a measurable conservation initiative or a policy on animal testing.

No War, No Weapons

Pony.ai's revenue from Sinotrans, a state-owned military logistics provider, was 49.9% of total revenues in H1 2024, falling within the 40-50% range for defense contracts.

The company formed a joint venture with SANY Heavy Industry, a defense contractor developing military unmanned equipment, and partners in a military-civil fusion project with Beihang University to develop unmanned systems for military logistics networks. Pony.ai's LiDAR supplier, Hesai, was designated as a Chinese military company by the Pentagon in 2023 and re-listed in October 2024. While the company states it is not engaged in activities described as "Prohibited Transaction" (e.g., AI systems exclusively for military end use), its involvement in military-civil fusion projects indicates a lack of comprehensive ethical safeguards for its dual-use AI systems. The company mentions increasing focus on ESG matters and compliance with export controls and economic sanctions, but there is no evidence of specific policies or actions regarding sales to embargoed regimes beyond general compliance. There is no evidence of codified ethical red lines, and the company cannot demonstrate zero exposure to controversial weapons, with evidence of partnerships with defense contractors and involvement in military-civil fusion projects.

Planet-Friendly Business

Pony.ai does not commit to a net-zero timeline.

While the company's Gen-4 autonomous trucks are noted to reduce per-vehicle carbon emissions by approximately 60 tons annually, and the first two truck models will be built on battery-electric vehicle platforms, there is no public disclosure of the company's total Scope 1, 2, or 3 emissions. The company also began using automotive urea solutions (DEF) in 2024 to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions in its diesel vehicle fleet. No other specific, quantifiable data is available for other environmental KPIs such as renewable energy use, waste diversion, water use, or green building certifications.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

No specific, concrete evidence was found in the provided articles to assess Pony.ai against any of the Key Performance Indicators for 'Respect for Cultures & Communities'. While the company engages in partnerships with other businesses like Uber, Toyota, GAC, BAIC, and Beijing ATBB Travel & Express Service Co., Ltd.

, these do not constitute formal partnerships with indigenous or local community groups as defined by the rubric. Similarly, while Pony.ai engages with local authorities and communities to raise awareness , there is no evidence of a documented social license to operate or specific percentages of operations covered by such licenses. No data was provided regarding community investment, cultural incident management, local employment, or cultural preservation efforts.

Safe & Smart Tech

The company explicitly states compliance with GDPR and outlines data processing activities in accordance with this regulation.

Its privacy policy mentions using data to improve safety, train algorithms, and optimize safety systems. Data encryption is used for transmission, and data minimization is mentioned with retention based on need. Users can access and update account information, opt-out of marketing, and delete accounts. The policy also mentions security codes for authentication and security safeguards to prevent unauthorized access, but lacks specific details on algorithmic transparency or a formal privacy-by-design approach.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

No specific, quantifiable evidence was found in the provided articles for any of the 'Zero Waste & Sustainable Products' KPIs. While some articles mentioned a 70% reduction in Bill-of-Materials (BOM) costs for the Gen 7 Robotaxi compared to the previous generation,

this is an internal improvement metric and cannot be directly mapped to the 'material_efficiency' KPI, which requires a comparison to the industry average material input per unit, a data point not provided.