Uber and Chinese tech giant Baidu announced a strategic partnership on Tuesday to deploy thousands of autonomous vehicles operated by Baidu’s Apollo Go unit on the Uber platform in select global markets outside the United States and China.
According to the joint statement, the initial rollout of self-driving vehicles is expected to begin later this year in key regions across Asia and the Middle East.
Apollo Go, Baidu’s autonomous driving division, currently manages a fleet of over 1,000 fully self-driving vehicles operating in 15 cities worldwide, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi. As of May, the service had completed over 11 million autonomous rides globally.
This collaboration marks Uber’s latest move in a growing series of strategic alliances aimed at bolstering its presence in the rapidly evolving autonomous taxi market.
The company is intensifying its efforts to compete with rivals like Lyft and other players in the global race for dominance in driverless ride-hailing services.
The Uber-Baidu partnership signals a significant push to expand autonomous mobility in high-growth markets beyond North America and China, where regulatory and infrastructure environments are becoming increasingly favorable to advanced mobility solutions.
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