Baidu and Uber have announced the next phase of their partnership to launch the Apollo Go autonomous ride-hailing service on the Uber platform in Dubai, in collaboration with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority.
The announcement was made on February 10, 2026. The service is expected to launch in the coming month and will initially operate in select locations within the Jumeirah area.
The deployment will expand across the city based on operational learnings and regulatory approvals.
Autonomous vehicles to be available via Uber app
Passengers booking trips within the service area will be able to access Apollo Go vehicles through the Uber app. Matching will be available when booking Uber Comfort or UberX, or by selecting the “Autonomous” option in the app.
Fleet management will be handled by third-party operator New Horizon.
The launch aligns with Dubai’s target of having 25 per cent of all transportation trips be autonomous by 2030.
“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. 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,” Nan Yang, Vice President of Baidu and General Manager of Overseas Business Unit, Intelligent Driving Group said in a statement.
“We’re excited to partner with Baidu as we continue to grow our autonomous footprint across Dubai. Just as we helped millions of people try out EVs for the first time, we will expand consumer access to autonomous technology in major cities around the world. With more than 20 AV partners already completing millions of autonomous trips annually, Uber is the global platform where the autonomous vehicle industry can launch at scale,” Sarfraz Maredia, Global Head of Autonomous at Uber added.
London expansion planned following Dubai launch
The announcement follows plans disclosed last December to expand the autonomous ride-hailing service to London, a right-hand drive market.
It also follows the opening of Apollo Go Park in Dubai in January, which serves as Apollo Go’s first overseas operations and management hub.
Apollo Go has logged more than 240 million autonomous kilometres. Over 140 million kilometres were completed in fully driverless mode.
The service operates in 22 cities globally. Weekly ride volumes have exceeded 250,000, with more than 17 million cumulative rides completed as of October 31, 2025.
Baidu was founded in 2000 and trades on NASDAQ under the symbol BIDU and on HKEX under 9888. One Baidu ADS represents eight Class A ordinary shares.
Uber was founded in 2010 and reports more than 68 billion trips globally. The company operates a platform focused on mobility, food delivery, and logistics.
