Baidu and Uber Join Forces to Accelerate Autonomous Vehicle Deployment

BEIJING & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU and HKEX: 9888) and Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: UBER) today announced a multi-year strategic partnership to deploy thousands of Baidu’s Apollo Go autonomous vehicles (AVs) on the Uber platform across multiple global markets outside of the U.S. and mainland China. This collaboration will focus on increasing the supply of affordable and reliable ridesharing options by bringing Baidu’s advanced autonomous vehicles onto Uber’s extensive network.

The first deployments are expected in Asia and the Middle East later this year. After launch, if a rider requests a qualifying Uber trip, they may be presented with the option to have their trip fulfilled by a fully driverless Apollo Go autonomous vehicle.

As the world’s leading autonomous ride-hailing service, Apollo Go deploys an operational fleet of over 1,000 fully driverless vehicles globally with its global footprint spanning 15 cities, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Backed by its advanced autonomous driving technology and robust safety record, Apollo Go is gaining strong momentum and accelerating its global expansion. As of May, the cumulative rides provided to the public by Apollo Go surpassed 11 million.

"We are committed to bringing the benefit of autonomous driving technology to more people in more markets, and this partnership with Uber represents a major milestone in deploying our technology on a global scale," said Robin Li, Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Baidu. "We look forward to working with Uber to deliver safe and efficient autonomous mobility solutions to riders around the world."

“This partnership brings together two of the world’s most iconic technology companies to help shape the future of mobility,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber. “As the world’s largest platform of its kind, spanning mobility, delivery, and freight, Uber is uniquely positioned to help AV leaders like Baidu bring their autonomous technology to the world.”

About Baidu:

Founded in 2000, Baidu's mission is to make the complicated world simpler through technology. Baidu is a leading AI company with strong internet foundation, trading on the NASDAQ under "BIDU" and HKEX under "9888." One Baidu ADS represents eight Class A ordinary shares.

About Uber:

Uber’s mission is to create opportunity through movement. We started in 2010 to solve a simple problem: how do you get access to a ride at the touch of a button? More than 61 billion trips later, we're building products to get people closer to where they want to be. By changing how people, food, and things move through cities, Uber is a platform that opens up the world to new possibilities.