Uber has inked a deal with Chinese tech giant Baidu to add “thousands” of its robotaxis to the American company’s ride-hailing app.
Baidu has been testing its Apollo Go robotaxis in several Chinese cities since 2019. But the partnership with Uber will involve Apollo Go ride-hailing services outside of China and the U.S., with the first deployments expected in parts of Asia and the Middle East later this year.
“After launch, if a rider requests a qualifying Uber trip, they may be presented with the option to have their trip fulfilled by a fully driverless Apollo Go autonomous vehicle,” Uber said in a statement released on Tuesday.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the joint venture “brings together two of the world’s most iconic technology companies to help shape the future of mobility,” while Baidu chief Robin Li said it represents “a major milestone in deploying our technology on a global scale.”
Uber failed to get back on track with its own robotaxi efforts after one of its self-driving cars struck and killed Elaine Herzberg in Arizona in 2018. Uber immediately suspended its autonomous-vehicle testing program, and while it made a limited return later that year, it decided to close down the unit in May 2020.
Looking ahead, partnering with the Chinese firm is set to give Uber access to Baidu’s established robotaxi infrastructure, while Baidu will benefit from Uber’s vast ride-hailing network and operational expertise outside of China.
Uber has already forged partnerships with the likes of May Mobility and Pony.ai for limited ride-hailing services using autonomous vehicles, but the Baidu alliance is one of the most significant yet in terms of the potential scale.
While the future of robotaxi rides is showing some promising signs with a number of limited services now running in cities around the world, the sector is still in the early stages of development and deployment, with local regulators having the final say on a broader rollout.
