Baidu and Uber launch autonomous ride-hailing service in Dubai

Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) and Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER) will launch the Apollo Go autonomous ride-hailing service on the Uber platform in Dubai within the coming month, according to a company statement.

The fully autonomous vehicles will operate in select locations within the Jumeirah area initially, with plans to expand across the city based on operational performance and regulatory approvals. The service operates in partnership with Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority.

Passengers booking Uber Comfort or UberX rides within the service area may be matched with an Apollo Go vehicle, or can select an "Autonomous" option in the Uber app. Third-party operator New Horizon will handle fleet management.

The deployment supports Dubai's target of making 25% of all transportation trips autonomous by 2030. The initiative follows the companies' announcement in December of plans to bring autonomous ride-hailing to London and the January opening of Apollo Go Park in Dubai, which serves as the service's first overseas operations hub.

"Bringing Apollo Go to Dubai via the Uber platform marks a pivotal step in our mission to provide safe, efficient, and accessible autonomous mobility worldwide," said Nan Yang, Vice President of Baidu and General Manager of Overseas Business Unit, Intelligent Driving Group.

Apollo Go operates in 22 cities globally and has completed more than 17 million cumulative rides as of October 31, 2025. The service has logged over 240 million autonomous kilometers, with more than 140 million kilometers completed in fully driverless mode. Weekly ride count recently exceeded 250,000.

Uber reports working with more than 20 autonomous vehicle partners that complete millions of autonomous trips annually across its platform.

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