Uber launched a robotaxi service with its partner WeRide in Abu Dhabi, its first international effort to make a wide number of autonomous vehicles from different operators available on its platform.
Customers who use Uber to book a ride will be presented with the option to hail an autonomous vehicle from WeRide. Fares will be upfront and equal to UberX and Uber Comfort prices. The vehicles will include safety drivers, so it won’t be a fully autonomous service at launch. But Uber and WeRide said they aim to offer driverless vehicles to passengers in 2025.
Uber first announced its partnership with WeRide, a startup based in Guangzhou, China, last September. WeRide holds driverless operation permits in the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, China, and the US — though Uber has said it isn’t currently considering extending the partnership beyond the UAE.
WeRide’s autonomous vehicles in Abu Dhabi have been available to customers through the TXAI app. The company was first granted a permit to test and operate AVs on public roads in the country in July 2023.
WeRide was planning on listing its shares in the US at a valuation of $5 billion, but its initial public offering has been delayed, with the company citing a need to complete all the documentation.
The company also develops self-driving technology that powers shuttle buses and freight equipment. It first launched in Silicon Valley in 2017 and subsequently was incorporated in the Cayman Islands.
Since ending its own efforts to develop self-driving cars in 2020, Uber has sought to become a clearinghouse for any company operating autonomous vehicles in the world. In addition to WeRide, Uber has deals with Cruise, Waymo, Motional, and Avride for self-driving cars and Serve, Cartken, and Nuro for delivery robots.