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Pony seeks as much as $348 mln in IPO, private placements

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IPO follows robotaxi firm WeRide's Nasdaq debut in October

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Japan's Toyota ( TM ), Chinese VC firm HongShan back Pony

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Pony has sought US listing for a long time

(Adds details on IPO in paragraphs 4 & 5, background in

paragraphs 3, 7 to 12)

Nov 14 (Reuters) - Pony AI is seeking a valuation of up

to $4.48 billion in its U.S. initial public offering, it said on

Thursday, as the Chinese autonomous driving firm moves ahead

with its long-sought plan for a New York listing.

Pony, backed by Japanese automaker Toyota ( TM ), aims to

raise up to $195 million by offering 15 million American

Depositary Shares priced between $11 and $13 each.

Chinese companies are slowly pursuing New York flotation

following a long hiatus after ride-hailing giant Didi Global was

forced to delist its U.S. shares following a clash with Beijing.

Two investors, including Beijing-based automaker BAIC Group

, have indicated their interest in buying shares worth

$74.9 million in the IPO.

Certain investors have also agreed to buy about $153.4

million worth of shares through concurrent private placements.

Self-driving firms are racing to raise capital as they look

to scale operations. Guangzhou-based Pony will enter the U.S.

public market on the heels of rival WeRide's Nasdaq

debut in October.

Pony's proposed target is a climb-down from its $8.5 billion

valuation in a 2022 funding round.

In September this year, Pony's board slashed the minimum

IPO valuation to $4 billion from $8.5 billion and proceeds to

$200 million from $425 million.

The IPO comes after a 2021 attempt to go public through

a $12 billion blank-check deal fell through as Beijing cracked

down against Chinese technology companies.

Beijing has since softened its stance and published

rules last year to revive offshore listings.

Zeekr's $441 million May IPO is the biggest U.S.

listing by a China-based company in 2024, LSEG data showed.

Pony, which last year secured $100 million from Saudi

Arabia's NEOM, is also backed by Canadian pension fund Ontario

Teachers' and venture capital firm HongShan, formerly Sequoia

China.

Pony AI will list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol

"PONY".

Goldman Sachs, BofA Securities, Deutsche Bank, Huatai

Securities and Tiger Brokers are underwriting the IPO.