Uber has announced a new partnership with Baidu to expand its robotaxi service beyond the U.S. and China. The companies said on Tuesday they plan to begin deploying Baidu’s autonomous vehicles on Uber’s platform in Asia and the Middle East later this year.
Baidu will supply thousands of its Apollo Go vehicles for the rollout. According to the company, Apollo Go has already completed over 11 million autonomous rides as of May, making it the world’s largest robotaxi provider. For comparison, Alphabet-owned Waymo had reached 10 million rides around the same time.
While some investors worry that autonomous vehicles could disrupt Uber’s traditional ride-hailing business, the company continues to embrace partnerships in the AV space.
Uber already works with Waymo in Austin and Phoenix, and plans to expand the partnership to Atlanta soon. It has also formed alliances with several other AV developers, including Pony AI, WeRide, May Mobility, Volkswagen, and Avride, a division of Nebius Group.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the Baidu agreement represents a major step in expanding access to autonomous transportation.
“This partnership brings together two of the world’s most iconic technology companies to help shape the future of mobility,” Khosrowshahi said. “As the world’s largest platform of its kind, spanning mobility, delivery, and freight, Uber is uniquely positioned to help AV leaders like Baidu bring their autonomous technology to the world.”
Investors had mixed reactions to the announcement. Uber shares dropped 1.8% to close at 92.17 on Tuesday. In contrast, U.S.-listed shares of Baidu rose 8.7% to finish at 93.30, also helped by separate news that Nvidia will be allowed to sell AI chips in China.
Despite the daily drop, Uber stock is up 53% for the year, outpacing the S&P 500. The company has rebounded from concerns over autonomous vehicle competition that hurt its stock last year.
Uber last broke out above a buy point of 93.60 on June 26 and has stayed near that level since.
