During their recent working visit to California's top tech companies, Ministers Bettel and Delles have secured a deal with autonomous driving leader Pony.ai to establish a European research and development centre in Luxembourg.
Earlier this week, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Xavier Bettel and Minister of the Economy Lex Delles departed on a working visit to California to meet with leading tech businesses.
On Thursday morning, the government announced that an agreement had been signed with Pony.ai to open a European centre of research and development in Luxembourg, with further plans to expand sales and maintenance operations to the Grand Duchy. According to a government statement, Luxembourg intends to pioneer autonomous driving in Europe.
Pony.ai, already a global pioneer in autonomous driving, has a fleet of "robotaxis" on public roads in the US and in China. In light of this success, the company also plans to eventually release self-driving lorries. Bettel commmented that Pony.ai's Luxembourg plans are a testament to the excellent economic environment for innovative businesses that the Grand Duchy possesses.
The two ministers from the Democratic Party also visited Google, Nvidia, and PayPal in California. According to a government statement, there have been discussions on the possibility of Google collaborating with the University of Luxembourg; however, there are no further updates on the global giant's potential plans to settle properly in the Grand Duchy.
