Uber’s expansion includes partnering with Baidu, WeRide and Pony.ai furthering its global footprint, its greater integration of autonomous vehicles and further access to technological developments.
Uber Technologies, Inc.’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will participate in a keynote fireside chat at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Technology Conference in San Francisco on Monday, September 8, scheduled for 10:10 a.m. PT (1:10 p.m. ET).
The annual event is a who’s who of top technology leaders sharing their companies’ strategies and technology advances. Khosrowshahi’s chat will be broadcast via audio webcast on Uber’s Investor Relations website.
His appearance comes at a pivotal moment for Uber, as the company continues to accelerate its global strategy through high-profile partnerships and technological innovation.
Expanding Global Reach Through Strategic Partnerships
Baidu’s Apollo Go: Thousands of Robotaxis Worldwide
On July 15, 2025, Uber and Chinese tech giant Baidu announced a multi-year strategic collaboration to deploy thousands of Baidu’s Apollo Go autonomous vehicles (AV) on the Uber platform.
This initiative focuses on markets outside the U.S. and mainland China, with initial rollouts planned for Asia and the Middle East later this year.
Baidu’s Apollo Go service already operates over 1,000 fully driverless vehicles across 15 cities, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and has completed more than 11 million public rides as of May.
According to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, this “partnership brings together two of the world’s most iconic technology companies to help shape the future of mobility”.
WeRide Expansion: 15 More Cities Over Five Years
Earlier this year on May 5, 2025, Uber and WeRide, a NASDAQ-listed Chinese AV leader, announced the expansion of their partnership to cover 15 additional cities globally—spanning Europe and the Middle East over the next five years.
These services will be integrated into the Uber app, with Uber managing fleet operations.
WeRide’s CEO Tony Han emphasized that the collaboration aligns with their strategy to make autonomous driving solutions more “affordable and accessible” worldwide.
Business Insider highlighted that Uber also invested US$100 million into WeRide as part of the deal, providing crucial support to accelerate the rollout and enhance safety through diverse “edge case” exposure.
Pony.ai: Heading to the Middle East
On May 6, 2025, Uber announced a strategic alliance with Pony.ai, another high-profile Chinese autonomous driving company.
The partnership is set to launch in a key Middle Eastern market later this year, offering Uber riders the option to choose Pony.ai-operated robotaxis to be used initially with onboard safety operators during the pilot phase.
This alliance underscores Uber’s partner-first approach: supporting autonomous mobility providers across the globe, rather than pursuing costly and complex in-house development.
Broader Strategy: Global Autonomy Hub while Focusing on Core Strengths
These partnerships are 100% AV-related and form the backbone of Uber’s long-term AV growth strategy. They reduce R&D risk, accelerate market entry, and position Uber as the world’s primary platform layer for autonomous mobility.
Uber has pivoted its autonomous vehicle strategy to be an orchestrator of third-party technology. It has been accomplished through relationships with a wide array of AV players, including Waymo, Motional, Avride, Momenta, and others, spanning ride-hailing, delivery, and freight use cases, as reported by The Verge.
- Baidu: Multi-year global launch of Apollo Go robotaxis across Asia and the Middle East.
- WeRide: Extension of partnership to 15 additional cities over the next five years.
- Pony.ai: Entry into Middle Eastern markets with initial piloting robotaxis.
This diversified approach enables Uber to rapidly scale autonomous services worldwide while maintaining its core strength as a trusted mobility and delivery platform. It also strategically prevents competitors such as Didi, Waymo and Tesla from dominating AV ride-hailing.
Integration with the Goldman Sachs Appearance
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi’s upcoming keynote is well-timed to highlight these forward moving developments.
His fireside chat will likely touch on Uber’s transition into a global autonomous mobility platform, the strategic value of partnerships in achieving wide geographic reach and technological diversity, and how Uber’s leveraging of its platform scale, ride-hailing infrastructure, and operational expertise help AV innovators commercialize effectively.
Tune in for the audio of the Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Technology Conference: https://investor.uber.com/home/default.aspx
