Uber and Chinese technology company Baidu announced plans to begin offering autonomous ride-hailing in Dubai in the coming month, marking a further step in Baidu's international expansion of its Apollo Go robotaxi service.
According to the companies, fully driverless vehicles will be bookable through the Uber app at select locations in the Jumeirah area. The partners said they intend to expand availability across the city over time, but any wider rollout will depend on operational performance and on obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals.
The Dubai deployment follows a partnership unveiled last year that set out to place thousands of Baidu Apollo Go autonomous vehicles onto the Uber platform in markets outside the U.S. and mainland China. The move also aligns with Uber's stated objective to become a player in the robotaxi market as technology firms pursue commercial adoption of autonomous vehicles.
Baidu has operated its Apollo Go robotaxi service commercially in a number of Chinese cities since 2022 and now states it has a global presence in 22 cities. The company reported that its service completed more than 17 million rides as of October. Baidu has also formed a partnership with Lyft to deploy robotaxis across Europe, and in December said it would run trials with Uber and Lyft in the U.K. this year.
For riders in Dubai, Baidu said the Uber app will offer options to be matched with an Apollo Go vehicle when booking either Uber Comfort or UberX, or by choosing an "Autonomous" option within the app. The companies indicated the initial footprint will be limited to selected zones and expanded only as on-the-ground results and city approvals allow.
This deployment represents a continuation of prior commercial operations and partnerships rather than a new claim of untested capability. The partners emphasized the phased nature of the rollout and tied expansion to both regulatory clearance and operational progress in the city.
Summary
Uber and Baidu will launch fully autonomous ride-hailing in Dubai next month in select areas of Jumeirah via the Uber app. Expansion across the city will hinge on regulatory approvals and how the initial operations perform. The effort builds on an earlier partnership to deploy Baidu's Apollo Go fleet on Uber's platform outside the U.S. and mainland China, and follows Baidu's existing commercial robotaxi activity in China and other international collaborations.