Mate Rimac, the founder of Croatian electric vehicle manufacturer Rimac Group, started working on electric robotaxis seven years ago. Now part of his vision is being fulfilled through a strategic partnership between Uber, Chinese autonomous vehicle company Pony.ai, and his own robotaxi startup Verne.
The three companies announced plans Thursday to launch a commercial robotaxi service in Europe, starting in Zagreb, Croatia. Pony.ai will provide the self-driving system and a robotaxi called the Arcfox Alpha T5 developed with Chinese automaker BAIC. Verne will own and operate the fleet and Uber will provide its vast transportation network.
The ride-hailing giant also said it plans to invest an undisclosed amount in Verne and support future expansion as a strategic partner.
The companies did not give a specific launch date for the commercial service, although road tests in Zagreb — where Rimac Group is based — are already underway.
Verne doesn’t have the same name recognition as Waymo or Tesla — at least not in the United States. But he has the same outsized ambitions.
Verne launched in 2019 as a project called Project 3 Mobility (or P3) within the Rimac Group, a growing ecosystem of companies that includes supercar maker Bugatti Rimac, Rimac Energy and Rimac Technology. Mate Rimac owns a 23% stake in the group.
There were occasional updates on the project, but it wasn’t until July 2024 — when Verne started with Financing of 100 million euros — that the public got a more detailed look at his designs.
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Rimac’s vision has always been for Verne to operate an urban robotaxi service with purpose-built two-seater electric vehicles. That might sound like an odd mission for the man behind the Nevera, an electric supercar that starts at around $2.2 million. But as he explained to this reporter a few years ago, Rimac was never interested in making a high-volume EV that people would drive — precisely because it believes autonomous vehicle technology will make that business obsolete.
“It’s going to take a while, but it’s coming; I’m sure of it,” he had told me at the time.
Verne is not developing its own self-driving system. Instead, the company focuses on the urban electric vehicle, ride-hailing application and back-end infrastructure for fleet management, including cleaning and maintenance.
Verne plans to produce the electric robotaxi vehicles at a new plant in Lučko, Croatia, which is expected to start operating later this year.
Verne has not yet launched the two seats, nor has it disclosed the vehicles in its announcement with Uber and Pony.ai. The company said in November that it had produced and tested 60 verification prototypes.
For now, the Verne robotaxi service will use the Pony.ai-BAIC vehicle, the Arcfox Alpha T5. Users will be able to enjoy one through Uber as well as Verne’s app.
Verne is starting small with its commercial launch, but has plans to scale to a “fleet of thousands of robots in the coming years,” according to Thursday’s announcement. And its ambitions go far beyond the borders of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia and home of the Rimac group.
“Europe needs autonomous mobility that can move from testing to a real service,” Verne CEO Marko Pejkovic said in a statement. “At Verne, we are bringing together the technology, platform and business capabilities needed to make this a reality, starting in Zagreb before expanding into new markets.”
