Ride-hailing giant Uber on Thursday announced a partnership with US-based autonomous vehicle startup Everide to use its delivery robots and autonomous vehicles in the US. According to the company, the multi-year partnership will first launch with sidewalk robots at Uber Eats in Austin. , Texas, in the coming weeks, before expanding to Dallas and Jersey City, New Jersey later this year.
The mobility partnership is expected to launch for riders in Dallas late next year.
Following launch, when a consumer requests an eligible delivery or ride on Uber Eats or the Uber app, they may be presented with the option to have that ride completed by an UberEats delivery robot or autonomous vehicle. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said autonomous mobility and delivery hold a lot of potential for consumers and communities.
“We are excited to partner with Everide to bring our technology to more people in more places as they continue to scale,” he said. Currently being tested on public roads.
According to Dmitry Polishchuk, CEO of Everide, they are excited to partner with Uber as “we grow our operations and work together to further improve the delivery experience for both consumers and merchants”.
“We plan to expand the total fleet of Everide robots operating within Uber Eats to hundreds in 2025, followed by the launch of our robotaxi service,” Polishchuk said.
Avride develops and operates both autonomous cars and delivery robots that use shared technologies. Everide is the new name for Yandex NV, a Netherlands-based company that sold its Russian business earlier this year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
