Uber partners with ex-Yandex self-driving group for robotaxis and robot delivery

Uber expanded its cohort of autonomous conveyance partners contiguous with the summation of Avride, formerly known arsenic Yandex Self-Driving Group. The companies signed a “multiyear” statement successful which Uber customers tin instrumentality rides and judge takeout deliveries from Avride’s autonomous vehicles.

Starting this week, Uber customers successful Austin volition spot an enactment to person Uber Eats deliveries from Avride’s six-wheeled sidewalk robots. That woody volition grow to Dallas and Jersey City, New Jersey, aboriginal this year. And successful 2025, Avride’s autonomous vehicles volition beryllium disposable to immoderate Uber customers for rides successful Dallas. The institution besides operates transportation robots successful South Korea.

Yandex was founded successful Russia successful 1997 and grew to predominate the country’s online hunt market. But the institution was ever funny successful expanding to the US. In 2009, the institution opened Yandex Labs successful Palo Alto, a 10-minute thrust from Google’s headquarters. The institution sought to prosecute astir 2 twelve engineers who could stock with Moscow the latest trends successful Silicon Valley.

That involvement expanded to see autonomous vehicles aft Yandex’s ride-hailing division, Yandex Taxi, acquired each of Uber’s concern successful Russia successful 2017. The 2 companies formed a associated venture, with respective Uber executives joining Yandex’s committee of directors. A twelvemonth later, Yandex launched what it claimed to beryllium the “world’s archetypal robo-taxi business” successful Moscow.

The institution demonstrated a afloat driverless conveyance astatine CES successful Las Vegas successful 2020 and past began investigating self-driving cars successful Ann Arbor, Michigan. Later that year, it launched a robot transportation aviator with Grubhub, with plans to perchance grow to 250 further assemblage campuses.

Earlier this year, Yandex Self-Driving Group rebranded arsenic Avride aft divesting itself from its Russian genitor company. In February 2024, Avride reached an statement for the $5.2 cardinal sale of each of its businesses successful Russia and severing its ties to its archetypal country. The institution is present headquartered successful Austin.

The tie-up with Uber adds to the dependable drumbeat of the ridehail giant’s partnerships arsenic it seeks to go a clearinghouse for immoderate institution operating autonomous vehicles successful the world. In summation to Avride, Uber has deals with Waymo, Motional, and WeRide for self-driving cars, and Serve, Cartken, and Nuro for transportation robots.