Pony AI (NASDAQ:PONY) CEO James Peng emphasized the company's strategic focus on supply chain diversification and international market expansion following its Nasdaq debut, as the autonomous driving technology firm navigates ongoing U.S.-China tensions.

What Happened: "For us, it's nothing new. We have dealt with this for quite some time already," Peng told Bloomberg Television on Thursday, addressing potential chip export restrictions.

"Our strategy was and remains to be, we will diversify our supply chain," Peng stated. "As more and more manufacturing of chips are coming out of China or rest of the world, we'll try to have more diversified supply chain to further de-risk from geopolitical tensions."

The company plans to strengthen its presence in markets outside the United States, particularly in South Korea, Singapore, and the Middle East.

Why It Matters: Despite opening at the IPO price of $13, Pony AI shares closed their first trading day at $12.00, down 7.69%. The stock showed signs of recovery in after-hours trading, climbing 2.75% to $12.33.

Pony AI, which debuted on the Nasdaq amid U.S.-China tensions, globally competes with leaders like Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), Waymo part of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG), and General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM)-backed Cruise in the autonomous driving space.

Tesla is advancing its robotaxi ambitions with its FSD fleet, while Waymo operates commercial services in Phoenix and San Francisco, with plans for Los Angeles. Cruise is scaling urban operations, and players like Amazon.com Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Zoox and Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR) target niche solutions.

With over 250 robotaxis and 190 robotrucks in China, Pony AI seeks to reduce reliance on single markets, focusing on South Korea, Singapore, and the Middle East to diversify and counter geopolitical risks.

Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and Deutsche Bank are serving as lead underwriters for the IPO, which is scheduled to close on Friday.