Baidu and Uber Expand Autonomous Ride-Hailing to Dubai
- Apollo Go autonomous vehicles will launch on the Uber app in select areas of Dubai’s Jumeirah district in the coming month.
- The deployment supports Dubai’s goal of making 25% of all transportation trips autonomous by 2030.
Baidu and Uber, in partnership with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority, announced the next phase of their global agreement by bringing Apollo Go autonomous ride-hailing to Dubai. The fully autonomous vehicles are expected to go live next month and will initially operate in select locations within the Jumeirah area. Expansion across the city will depend on operational learnings and regulatory approvals.
"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, in a press release. "As a key deliverable of the strategic partnership between Apollo Go and Uber announced last July, this deployment officially brings our autonomous ride-hailing service to Dubai, utilizing Uber's vast network to turn our shared vision into reality."
Riders in the coverage area will see the option to ride in an Apollo Go vehicle when booking Uber Comfort or UberX, or by selecting “Autonomous” in the app. Operations on the ground will be managed by third-party operator New Horizon.
The announcement follows plans disclosed last December to introduce the service in London and the January opening of Apollo Go Park in Dubai, its first overseas operations and management hub. Apollo Go reports more than 240 million autonomous kilometers logged, including over 140 million in fully driverless mode, with service operating in 22 cities and surpassing 17 million cumulative rides as of October 31, 2025.
🌀 Tom’s Take:
Dubai marks a clear step in Apollo Go’s push beyond its home market. With London plans already announced and a dedicated operations hub now open in the city, Baidu is positioning Apollo Go as an international operator.
Source: PR Newswire / Baidu
