Uber has struck one other take care of a robotaxi supplier, and this time it’s with Chinese language tech big Baidu.
The 2 firms announced Tuesday that they’ve agreed to a “multi-year strategic partnership to deploy hundreds of Baidu’s Apollo Go autonomous automobiles (AVs) on the Uber platform” in a number of markets outdoors the U.S. and mainland China. These deployments will begin in Asia and the Center East later this yr, the businesses stated.
Uber has been on a tear of AV partnerships currently because it seems to be to guard its ride-hailing enterprise by embracing the rise of robotaxis.
In the previous couple of months alone, Uber has agreed to place AVs from Waymo, Volkswagen, May Mobility, and Pony AI on its platform in numerous cities world wide. In some circumstances, Uber is taking direct stakes in these firms. In Could, Uber introduced an expanded partnership with China’s WeRide that included a $100 million investment. Uber is reportedly additionally contemplating serving to its founder Travis Kalanick finance a takeover of Pony AI.
As quick as these partnerships have been coming, they’re nonetheless within the very early levels. On this occasion, riders initially received’t be capable to request a Baidu AV in Uber’s app. As an alternative, the businesses say the rider “could also be introduced with the choice” to have their journey fulfilled by a completely driverless Apollo Go AV. That is much like how a few of Uber’s different partnerships already work.