Start-up Pony.ai says it’s the first self-driving company to get a taxi license in China

Autonomous driving start-up Pony.ai can collect fares for robotaxi rides in parts of two major Chinese cities as of Sunday.

Pony.ai received the first taxi license for self-driving cars in China.

Pony.ai has a license to operate 100 self-driving cars as traditional taxis in the southern city of Guangzhou.

The Chinese start-up, which is backed by Toyota, received approval from Beijing city late last year to charge fees to operate a commercial robotaxi business in a suburban district of the city. It's not the same as a taxi licence.

Apollo Go was approved in the Beijing district last year.

In early March, Pony.ai was valued at $8.5 billion. In China and other countries, the company required 24 months of testing for its taxi license, as well as no involvement in any accidents.

The start-up said it will launch its businesses in two other large Chinese cities next year. The company is testing self-driving cars in those cities.

A human driver is present for safety.

The report was contributed to by CNBC's Arjun Kharpal.