Uber customers in Dallas may get an Avride-branded robotaxi the next time they take a ride.
A year after announcing their partnership, Uber and Avride launched a commercial robotaxi service in Dallas. However, the service comes with some caveats, including the addition of a human safety operator behind the wheel and a limited operating area. The companies said that fully driverless operations, without a safety operator, will start in the future and the service area will expand.
For Uber, the launch caps a year of rapid deal-making — and growth — with a variety of self-driving technology companies, including Waymo, China’s WeRide and San Francisco-based startup Nuro. To date, Uber has committed to 20 partnerships with AV companies in freight, delivery and robotics, some of which are now in commercial operation. Uber offers autonomous vehicles through its ride-hailing app in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh with WeRide and in Atlanta, Austin and Phoenix with Waymo.
Uber said it plans to have autonomous vehicles on its network in at least 10 cities by the end of 2026. Within the next two years, the plan is to roll out AVs on its app in Arlington, Texas, Dubai, London, Los Angeles, Munich and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Many of these partnerships have included an investment from Uber, and Avride, an Austin-based startup under parent company Nebius Group, is one of them.
In October 2024, the ride-hailing company inked a multi-year deal with Avride to bring its curbside delivery robots and autonomous vehicles to both Uber Eats and Uber. Within months, Avride’s sidewalk robots began delivering food through the Uber Eats app in Austin, Dallas and Jersey City.
This fall, Avride secured $375 million in strategic investment and commercial commitments from Uber and Nebius, formerly known as Yandex NV, the Netherlands-based company that sold its Russian operations in 2024.
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Uber’s use of Avride sidewalk robots for its food delivery business has been notable, but this robotaxi launch has arguably higher stakes for both companies.
The robotaxi fleet of Hyundai Ioniq 5 all-electric vehicles is equipped with Avride’s self-driving system and will serve a nine-square-mile area of Dallas that includes downtown. Uber said it plans to expand its operating area in the coming months.
The fleet, which is currently limited, will eventually expand to hundreds of Avride robotaxis throughout Dallas in the coming years, according to an Uber spokesperson.
The robotaxi service in Dallas will eventually work similar to Uber’s partnership with Waymo in Austin and Atlanta. Avride will initially manage its own fleet and Uber will take over day-to-day operations of the fleet, including cleaning, maintenance, inspections, charging and warehouse management. From the start, Uber will provide end-to-end rider support, while Avride will oversee vehicle testing.
Uber riders requesting UberX, Uber Comfort or Uber Comfort Electric rides can be matched with an Avride robotaxi. The match is not guaranteed, and riders can increase their chances of getting a robotaxi by changing a setting in the Uber app. Rides by robotaxi will cost the same as those performed by a human driver, according to Uber.
When an Uber user is notified that they have been matched with an Avride robotaxi, they can choose to accept or switch to a human-centric ride. Once the robotaxi arrives, riders can use the Uber app to unlock the vehicle, open the trunk, and begin the journey.
