By Jiahui Huang

Chinese robotaxi maker Pony AI said it has partnered with domestic chipmaker Moore Threads Technology to explore the use of homegrown computing power for autonomous driving, as Beijing is looking for reducing reliance on U.S. chips.

Pony AI said on Friday the strategic partnership will focus on Level 4 advanced autonomous driving technology.

The collaboration marks the first time Pony AI will use Chinese domestic AI computing power at scale in its core training and stimulation stages, the company said.

It also signals Moore Threads' entry to the autonomous-driving sector with its domestically developed, full-function graphics-processing units.

Pony AI plans to test Moore Threads' MTT S5000 GPUs in its core autonomous-driving and simulation workflows to advance the development of autonomous driving technology and reduce costs. The move reflects potentially growing acceptance of domestic AI chips in high-level autonomous-driving applications.

Moore Threads is widely viewed as a Chinese challenger to Nvidia, pursuing a similar trajectory from graphics-focused GPUs to AI-computing.

Beijing has pushed to cut its reliance on foreign chips amid uncertainty over U.S. restrictions on advanced semiconductors.

Most leading robotaxi companies still rely on Nvidia's DRIVE platforms for in-vehicle autonomy and its data-center GPUs for training and stimulation.

Pony AI's shares rose 1.3% in Hong Kong, while Moore Threads' shares gained 0.3% in Shanghai early Friday.

Write to Jiahui Huang at (jiahui.huang@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 05, 2026 22:53 ET (03:53 GMT)

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