- The partnership will soon begin in Zagreb, before expanding to additional cities in Europe and beyond
ZAGREB, Croatia, March 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Verne, Pony AI Inc. ("Pony.ai") (NASDAQ: PONY; HKEX: 2026), a global leader in the large-scale commercialization of autonomous driving technology, and Uber Technologies, Inc., today announced a strategic partnership to launch the first commercial robotaxi service in Europe, beginning in Zagreb soon, with initial deployment work already underway, including public-road validation.
The three companies plan to collaborate on the deployment of a commercial robotaxi service, combining Pony.ai's autonomous driving system, Uber's global mobility platform, and Verne's service ecosystem and operational framework. Under this model, Pony.ai will provide its autonomous driving solution; Verne will act as fleet owner and service operator; and Uber will integrate the service into its global ride-hailing network, complementing Verne's own customer-facing platform. Together, the companies aim to build a scalable path toward commercial robotaxi services in Zagreb and, over time, potentially into additional European cities and other markets, with plans to scale to a fleet of thousands of robotaxis over the next few years.
As part of this collaboration, the companies have already begun on-road testing in Croatia's capital, Zagreb, using Pony.ai's Gen-7 autonomous driving system, deployed on the Arcfox Alpha T5 Robotaxi. With preparations for fare-charging services underway, Zagreb is emerging as the first market for commercial robotaxi service in Europe.
Verne will lead the process of ensuring market readiness and obtaining European regulatory approval for these launches, while coordinating the deployment of Pony.ai's robotaxis across both Verne and Uber's networks. This approach ensures consistent performance, safety, and experience, and establishes a scalable framework for expansion into additional markets. As part of the partnership, Uber intends to invest in Verne and support future expansion as a strategic partner.
"Partnering with Uber and Verne represents an important milestone as we continue to expand autonomous mobility globally," said Dr. James Peng, Founder and CEO of Pony.ai. "In China, our Gen-7 has achieved meaningful commercial scale, including unit economics breakeven in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, demonstrating the readiness of our technology and business model. By leveraging this experience, we are well-positioned to accelerate commercialization internationally, combining our technology with Uber's global platform and Verne's role in enabling multi-market deployment, to build a scalable and sustainable autonomous mobility ecosystem."
"Europe needs autonomous mobility that can move from testing to a real service," said Marko Pejkovic, CEO of Verne. "At Verne, we are bringing together the technology, platform, and operational capabilities required to make this a reality, starting in Zagreb before expanding to new markets."
"Through a strong ecosystem of partnerships, autonomous mobility can both scale globally and more effectively," said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber. "By bringing together Pony.ai's proven autonomous driving technology, Verne's operational and market expertise, and Uber's global platform, we're taking an important step toward making autonomous ride-hailing available to more riders in more places."
About Pony AI Inc.
Pony AI Inc. is a global leader in achieving large-scale commercialization of autonomous mobility. Leveraging its vehicle-agnostic Virtual Driver technology, a full-stack autonomous driving technology that seamlessly integrates Pony.ai's proprietary software, hardware, and services, Pony.ai is developing a commercially viable and sustainable business model that enables the mass production and deployment of vehicles across transportation use cases. Founded in 2016, Pony.ai has expanded its presence across China, Europe, East Asia, the Middle East and other regions, ensuring widespread accessibility to its advanced technology.
About Verne
We are named after Jules Verne, who imagined journeys enabled by technologies long before they existed. Verne is building the operational layer for autonomous mobility in Europe and beyond. Since 2019, we've worked on deploying autonomous ride hailing in complex urban environments through operations, integration, and regulatory enablement, making it part of everyday life. At the core, we design how it works and how it feels, keeping the human in mind.
About Uber Technologies, Inc.
Uber's mission is to create opportunity through movement. We started in 2010 to solve a simple problem: how do you get access to a ride at the touch of a button? More than 72 billion trips later, we're building products to get people closer to where they want to be. By changing how people, food, and things move through cities, Uber is a platform that opens up the world to new possibilities.
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