Pony.ai launches next-generation self-driving car brain using NVIDIA's latest chip, targeting mass production of robotaxis

Pony.ai announced a new domain controller (the computing system that processes sensor data and makes driving decisions) built on NVIDIA DRIVE Hyperion platform and powered by NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor chips. The system can be configured with one or two Thor chips connected via NVIDIA NVLink, achieving a combined computing power of 4,000 FP4 TFLOPS (a measure of how many calculations per second the chip can perform).

Unlike earlier versions that used four separate NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Orin chips, this new design consolidates computing into fewer, faster chips with better energy efficiency and support for newer AI models. The system is engineered to handle multi-sensor fusion (combining camera, radar, lidar data), full-scenario perception, and complex driving situations while improving safety redundancy.

Pony.ai is already mass-producing its seventh-generation robotaxis powered by the previous four-Orin-chip system; this new platform will enable the company to scale its robotaxi business and domain controller products to customers beyond its own fleet. For robotaxi operators and autonomous vehicle companies, this means faster, more efficient vehicles with lower power consumption — critical for operating fleets around the clock.