Uber customers in Dallas may get an Avride-branded robotaxi the next time they hail a ride.
A year after announcing their partnership, Uber and Avride have launched a commercial robotaxi service in Dallas. The service comes with a few caveats, however, including the addition of a human safety operator behind the wheel, and a limited operating area. The companies said fully driverless operations, without a safety operator, will begin in the future and the service area will expand.
For Uber, the launch closes out a year of rapid dealmaking — and deployments — with a variety of autonomous vehicle technology companies, including Waymo, China’s WeRide and San Francisco-based startup Nuro. To date, Uber has locked in 20 partnerships with AV companies across freight, delivery and robotaxis, 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. Over the next two years, the plan is to launch 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 by Uber, and Avride, an Austin-based startup that sits under parent company Nebius Group, is one of those.
In October 2024, the ride-hailing company struck a multi-year deal with Avride to bring its sidewalk delivery robots and autonomous vehicles to both Uber Eats and Uber. Within months, Avride’s sidewalk robots began delivering food via the Uber Eats app in Austin, Dallas and Jersey City.
This fall, Avride secured strategic investments and commercial commitments worth $375 million from Uber and Nebius, which was previously known as Yandex NV, the Netherlands-based company that sold off its Russian business in 2024.
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Uber’s use of Avride sidewalk robots for its food delivery business was notable, but this robotaxi launch has arguably higher stakes for both companies.
The robotaxi fleet of all-electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 vehicles is equipped with Avride’s self-driving system, and will service a 9-square-mile area of Dallas that includes downtown. Uber said it plans to expand the operating territory in the coming months.
The fleet, currently limited, will eventually expand to hundreds of Avride robotaxis across Dallas in the next few years, according to an Uber spokesperson.
The robotaxi service in Dallas will eventually operate similarly 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 fleet operations, including cleaning, maintenance, inspections, charging and depot management. From the start, Uber will provide end-to-end rider support, while Avride will oversee vehicle testing.
Uber riders who request UberX, Uber Comfort or Uber Comfort Electric rides may 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. Robotaxi rides will cost the same as those operated by a human driver, according to Uber.
When an Uber user is notified they’ve been matched with an Avride robotaxi, they can choose to accept or switch to a human-driven ride. Once the robotaxi arrives, riders can use the Uber app to unlock the vehicle, open the trunk and start the trip.