(Bloomberg) -- Uber Technologies Inc. is partnering with Chinese autonomous car company WeRide Inc. to expand its robotaxi offering to the United Arab Emirates.
Users of the Uber app in Abu Dhabi will be able to book a ride in a robotaxi from later this year, the companies said in a statement on Wednesday.
Uber has signed a string of deals with driverless car companies including Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo and Cruise LLC as part of an effort to position itself as a platform for commercializing autonomous vehicles. It’s a departure from its past ambitions to build self-driving car technology in-house.
Guangzhou-based WeRide was granted the UAE’s first national license for self-driving cars in July 2023 and operates the largest robotaxi fleet in the Gulf state, according to the statement. The company had eight driverless taxis when it won the license.
The announcement precedes the unveiling of Tesla Inc.’s robotaxi offering next month.
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