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9:26 AM PDT · March 31, 2026
Uber and Chinese autonomous conveyance institution WeRide person launched robotaxi operations without a quality information relation successful Dubai arsenic portion of a broader enlargement successful the Middle East.
Riders tin present publication the vehicles done Uber’s app, with operations successful commercialized and concern districts like Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai Investment Park Second, and Jabal Ali Industrial First, arsenic good arsenic suburban areas and the maritime trading hub Al Hamriya Port. The work is operated locally by Tawasul, a mobility and fleet relation successful the United Arab Emirates.
The companies archetypal introduced robotaxis to Dubai successful December nether a aviator program, but didn’t complaint for rides and inactive had a quality information relation connected board. The government’s Roads and Transport Authority issued a driverless conveyance proceedings licence to the companies past month.
The deployment signals an escalation successful WeRide’s robotaxi operations successful the region. It besides coincides with Uber’s accrued involvement successful the company. Uber present holds a 5.82% involvement successful WeRide, according to documents filed Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The equity involvement is valued astatine astir $400 cardinal based connected WeRide’s closing banal terms connected Monday.
“Bringing afloat driverless vehicles to Dubai is an important milestone successful making autonomous mobility a planetary reality. This motorboat underscores our heavy committedness to the UAE and our imaginativeness for a hybrid satellite — wherever drivers and AVs run side-by-side to make a much resilient network. Especially during challenging times successful the region, we are arrogant to beryllium a spouse to this city, ensuring that Uber is ever determination to assistance radical determination seamlessly and with confidence,” Sarfraz Maredia, Uber’s planetary caput of autonomous mobility and delivery, said successful a statement.
Uber invested $100 million into WeRide successful May 2025 arsenic portion of a commercialized robotaxi concern to bring work to different 15 cities implicit the adjacent 5 years. The companies have antecedently shared that the expansion will see cities successful Europe.
Under the partnership, WeRide’s robotaxi services are disposable done the Uber app. The narration is akin to Uber’s woody with Waymo, successful which the ride-hailing institution handles the web routing and fleet operations, portion the autonomous conveyance institution remains liable for the AV tech.
Kirsten Korosec is simply a newsman and exertion who has covered the aboriginal of proscription from EVs and autonomous vehicles to municipality aerial mobility and in-car tech for much than a decade. She is presently the proscription exertion astatine TechCrunch and co-host of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast. She is besides co-founder and co-host of the podcast, “The Autonocast.” She antecedently wrote for Fortune, The Verge, Bloomberg, MIT Technology Review and CBS Interactive.
You tin interaction oregon verify outreach from Kirsten by emailing kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com oregon via encrypted connection astatine kkorosec.07 connected Signal.
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