Uber and Baidu are teaming up to deploy thousands of autonomous vehicles globally

Baidu has struck a partnership with Uber to deploy its autonomous cars on the ride-hailing giant's platform outside the U.S. and mainland China.

The first deployments are expected to happen in Asia and the Middle East later this year. The two companies said the multi-year partnership will see "thousands" of Baidu's Apollo Go autonomous vehicles on Uber globally.

For Baidu, the move will help to internationalize its driverless car business outside of China. Uber will meanwhile gain a proven partner to take on autonomous driving rivals around the world. After the launch, a rider requesting a trip on Uber may be given the option to hail a driverless Apollo Go car, the two companies said.

In China, Baidu has been operating its own robotaxi service since 2021 in major cities like Beijing, letting users hail an Apollo Go car through the app.

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