The next time someone in Dallas hails an Uber, the ride may show up as an Avride-branded robotaxi. A year after unveiling their partnership, Uber and Avride have rolled out a commercial robotaxi service in Dallas. The service has some caveats, however, including a human safety operator behind the wheel and a small operating area. Fully driverless operations, without a safety operator on board, will start at some point in the future, and the service area will grow, the companies said.
The launch puts an end to a year of fast deal-making and deployments — for Uber with a range of autonomous vehicle technology companies, including Waymo, China’s WeRide, and San Francisco start-up Nuro. So far, Uber has inked 20 partnerships with AV companies spanning freight, delivery, and robotaxis — some of which are already in commercial operation. It has also offered autonomous vehicles on its ride-hailing app in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh with WeRide, and through Waymo in Atlanta, Austin, and Phoenix.
Uber said it would have autonomous vehicles on its network in at least 10 cities by the end of 2026. In the next two years, it plans to introduce A.V.s on its app in Arlington, Texas; Dubai; London; Los Angeles; Munich and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Many of these integrations have involved an investment by Uber, and Avride is one among them (Avride is the Austin-based startup that operates under parent company Nebius Group).
In October 2024, the ride-hailing company inked a multi-year deal with Avride to bring its sidewalk-delivering robots and autonomous vehicles to both Uber Eats and Uber. Within months, Avride’s sidewalk robots had started delivering food by way of the Uber Eats app in Austin, Dallas and Jersey City.
This fall, Avride landed $375 million in strategic investments and commercial commitments from Uber and Nebius, formerly Yandex NV, the Netherlands-based company that sold its Russian business in 2024.
Uber’s deployment of sidewalk robots from Avride for its food delivery business was noteworthy, but this robotaxi launch has arguably bigger consequences for both companies.
Avride’s fleet of ride-hailing robotaxis, all-electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 vehicles outfitted with its self-driving system, will operate within a nine-square-mile zone in Dallas that encompasses downtown. Uber said it would extend the operating area in the months ahead.
The fleet, which is now small, will eventually grow to hundreds of robotaxis in Dallas over the next several years, an Uber spokesman said.
The robotaxi ride-hailing in Dallas will eventually function just like Uber’s work with Waymo in Austin and Atlanta. Avride will run its own fleet to start, and Uber will operate the day-to-day running of the fleet: daily cleanings, maintenance, inspections, charging and depot management. Uber will handle the end-to-end rider experience from the outset, while Avride is overseeing vehicle testing.
Uber customers requesting UberX, Uber Comfort or Uber Comfort Electric rides could be assigned an Avride robotaxi. There is no guarantee the match will work, and riders can improve the chances of getting a robotaxi by changing a setting in the Uber app. Robotaxi rides are going to be priced the same as they were if a human driver was in charge, Uber said.
When an Uber rider is matched with an Avride robotaxi, they can opt in — or switch to a human-driven ride. When the robotaxi pulls up, passengers can unlock the car using the Uber app, pop open the trunk and away they go.
