Uber is teaming up with China’s Baidu to deploy thousands of autonomous cars around the world. Baidu’s robo-taxis, branded Apollo Go, will be available through the Uber app in multiple countries, including mainland China, Asia, the Middle East and other regions.
The first joint launches are expected by the end of 2025 in Asia and the Middle East. Uber users will be able to choose rides in Baidu’s driverless cars. This should lower the cost of trips in new regions and accelerate the development of autonomous transportation.
Baidu already has a fleet of over 1,000 drones operating in 15 cities, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The company is also gradually expanding its geography. In May, it was announced that it was planning to enter the European market.
By the way, the US is not yet on this list. Chinese companies face increased scrutiny from the US authorities, which effectively blocks access to the market.
Meanwhile, competition among local companies is growing in the US market. In particular, Waymo (a subsidiary of Alphabet) has already launched in several cities in cooperation with Uber. Zoox, owned by Amazon, is also developing its autonomous service. In addition, Tesla recently began testing its own robo-taxi in Austin, Texas.