AIBRIEF
Pony.ai, the Chinese self driving firm, supplies the self driving technology while Uber supplies the ride hail platform. The number of cities and a launch date have not been confirmed.
Uber and Pony.ai plan to deploy 2,000 robotaxis across four European cities under an expanded partnership announced Thursday. Pony.ai, the Chinese self-driving firm, supplies the autonomous stack; Uber supplies the ride-hail platform. A local partner in each market will run the fleet: maintenance, cleaning, and charging.
The companies did not name the four cities or set a launch date, saying details would come in phases. The four-city count is TechCrunch's anchor; CnEVPost's headline says five, and the joint press release does not enumerate.
The expansion rides on a template already live in Zagreb, where Uber, Pony.ai, and Croatian partner Verne launched Europe's first commercial robotaxi service earlier this year. Pony.ai, headquartered in Guangzhou, runs robotaxis in four Chinese cities and has Middle Eastern partnerships including Qatar, per CNBC. Uber has partnered with 30-plus autonomous-vehicle companies in recent years. Neither company addressed EU regulatory clearance in the announcement.