Uber has launched a robot taxi service with its partner WeRide in Abu Dhabi, UAE. This is reported by The Verge.

Among the traditional Uber services, it will be possible to order an autonomous vehicle WeRide. The trip will be paid for in advance, and the fares will be in line with UberX and Uber Comfort prices.

The vehicles will have a driver in case of emergencies. But later, the company plans to come to fully self-driving vehicles in 2025.

WeRide is a Chinese startup based in Guangzhou. The company also develops self-driving technology that powers shuttle buses and trucks. WeRide has permits for unmanned transportation in the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, China, and the United States. However, Uber said it is not currently considering expanding the partnership beyond the UAE.

The company first received permission to test and operate self-driving cars on public roads in the country in July 2023. Previously, autonomous cars were available to customers through the TXAI app.

After stopping its own development of self-driving cars in 2020, Uber aims to become an aggregator for other companies in the robotics industry. In addition to WeRide, Uber has agreements with Cruise, Waymo, Motional, and Avride for self-driving cars, and Serve, Cartken, and Nuro for delivery robots.