Uber's latest robotaxi partner is China's Baidu
The two companies announced Tuesday that they have agreed to a 'multi-year strategic partnership to deploy thousands of Baidu's Apollo Go autonomous vehicles (AVs) on the Uber platform' in multiple markets outside the U.S. and mainland China. Those deployments will start in Asia and the Middle East later this year, the companies said.
Uber has been on a tear of AV partnerships lately as it looks to protect its ride-hailing business by embracing the rise of robotaxis.
In the last few months alone, Uber has agreed to put AVs from Waymo, Volkswagen, May Mobility, and Pony AI on its platform in different cities around the world. In some cases, Uber is taking direct stakes in these companies. In May, Uber announced an expanded partnership with China's WeRide that included a $100 million investment. Uber is reportedly also considering helping its founder Travis Kalanick finance a takeover of Pony AI.
As fast as these partnerships have been coming, they are still in the very early stages. In this instance, riders initially won't be able to request a Baidu AV in Uber's app. Instead, the companies say the rider 'may be presented with the option' to have their trip fulfilled by a fully driverless Apollo Go AV. This is similar to how some of Uber's other partnerships already work.
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