Uber and China-based Baidu are teaming up to deploy more autonomous vehicles throughout the world. The companies plan on bringing thousands of Baidu’s Apollo Go vehicles to various regions that will be accessible via the Uber platform, including mainland China and other “global markets outside of the US.”
The first joint deployments are expected in Asia and the Middle East later this year. Once launched, Uber riders could be presented with the option to have the trip fulfilled by an Apollo Go vehicle.
The companies say this collaboration should increase the supply of affordable rideshare options in new areas by “bringing Baidu’s advanced autonomous vehicles onto Uber’s extensive network.” This follows reporting from May in which Baidu announced it was bringing its autonomous vehicles to Europe.
Baidu already operates a fleet of over 1,000 fully driverless vehicles in 15 cities, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The company first launched the platform in several Chinese cities back in 2022, including Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for a US rollout. A recent report by The Wall Street Journal suggests America isn’t currently in the cards, as Chinese companies tend to face increased scrutiny over on this side of the pond.
However, there are plenty of budding autonomous vehicle companies chasing the US market. The Alphabet-owned Waymo has been steadily launching in new cities and most of these efforts include a partnership with Uber. The company Avride, which used to be the self-driving unit for the Russian conglomerate Yandex, has been increasing its presence in cities like Dallas and Jersey City. Amazon’s Zoox is also still out there, despite a serious software issue that impacted the braking system.
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