Uber has expanded its list of autonomous vehicle partners by signing a multiyear agreement with Avride, formerly known as Yandex Self-Driving Group. The deal allows Uber customers to use Avride’s autonomous vehicles for rides and deliveries.
Starting this week, Uber customers in Austin can receive Uber Eats orders from Avride’s six-wheeled sidewalk delivery robots.
This service will soon expand to Dallas and Jersey City, New Jersey, later in the year. In 2025, Uber plans to offer autonomous rides from Avride vehicles to some customers in Dallas. Avride also operates its delivery robots in South Korea.
Avride, which originated from Yandex’s self-driving efforts, rebranded after separating from its Russian parent company. Yandex had previously partnered with Uber, merging its ride-hailing operations in Russia with the US-based company in 2017. The collaboration resulted in Yandex launching what it claimed to be the first robotaxi service in Moscow a year later.
The company had ambitious plans to expand its autonomous vehicle operations in the US. It demonstrated its fully driverless car at CES in Las Vegas in 2020 and started testing in Ann Arbor, Michigan. However, Yandex’s operations faced a significant setback in 2022 when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to severed ties with Western companies.
Uber sold its stake in the Russian company, and other partners, such as Grubhub and DuckDuckGo, also cut ties.
Earlier this year, Yandex Self-Driving rebranded as Avride after a $5.2 billion sale that distanced it from its Russian roots. Now headquartered in Austin, Avride’s partnership with Uber represents another step in its international expansion.
Uber has also partnered with other autonomous vehicle companies, including Waymo, Motional, and WeRide for self-driving cars, and Serve, Cartken, and Nuro for delivery robots.
This move is part of Uber’s strategy to be a leader in the autonomous vehicle space.
