Uber and Avride launch robo-taxi service in Dallas

Uber customers in Dallas can get an Avride-branded robo-taxi the next time they request a ride.

A year after announcing their partnership, Uber and Avride launched a commercial robotaxi service in Dallas. However, the service comes with some caveats, including the addition of a human safety operator behind the wheel and a limited operating area. Completely driverless operations, without a safety operator, will begin in the future and the service area will expand, the companies said.

For Uber, the launch caps a year of rapid dealmaking — and deployments — with a variety of self-driving vehicle technology companies, including Waymo, China’s WeRide and San Francisco startup Nuro. To date, Uber has partnered with 20 autonomous vehicle companies in the areas of charging, delivery and robotaxis, some of which are now in the commercial operation stage. Uber is offering self-driving 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 self-driving vehicles on its network in at least 10 cities by the end of 2026. Over the next two years, the plan is to launch self-driving vehicles 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 housed under parent company Nebius Group, is one of them.

In October 2024, the ride-hailing company struck a multi-year deal with Avride to bring curbside delivery robots and self-driving 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 business commitments worth $375 million from Uber and Nebius, formerly known as Yandex NV, the Netherlands-based company that sold its Russian business in 2024.

Uber’s use of Avride curbside robots in its food delivery business has been notable, but launching a robotaxi arguably has greater risks for both companies.

The all-electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 robo-taxi fleet is equipped with Avride’s autonomous driving system and will serve a 9-square-mile area in Dallas that includes downtown. Uber said it plans to expand its operating area in the coming months.

The fleet, currently limited, will eventually expand to include hundreds of Avride robotaxis throughout Dallas in the next few years, according to an Uber spokesperson.

The robo-taxi 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 handle day-to-day fleet operations, including cleaning, maintenance, inspection, shipping and warehouse management. From the beginning, Uber will provide comprehensive support to riders, while Avride will oversee vehicle testing.

Uber riders who request UberX, Uber Comfort, or Uber Comfort Electric rides may be matched with a robo-taxi from Avride. The match is not guaranteed, and riders can increase their chances of getting a robo-taxi by changing the setting in the Uber app. Robotaxi rides will cost the same as those driven by a human driver, according to Uber.

When an Uber user is notified that they have been matched with an Avride robotaxi, they can choose to accept or switch to a human-driven ride. Once the robo-taxi arrives, passengers can use the Uber app to unlock the car, open the trunk, and begin the ride.