WeRide (NASDAQ:WRD) and Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) on Friday announced a major expansion of their strategic partnership, committing to deploy at least 1,200 robotaxis across Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Riyadh by 2027.
The deal represents the largest commercial commitment for autonomous vehicles in the Middle East to date.
Under the agreement, the fleet will be integrated directly into the Uber app, allowing users in the three Gulf hubs to hail driverless rides as seamlessly as a standard UberX.
The rollout builds on WeRide’s existing "asset-light" model in the region, where it already operates more than 200 autonomous vehicles.
In Abu Dhabi, these operations are already reaching a critical operational milestone, averaging dozens of daily trips per vehicle and tracking toward breakeven unit economics.
The expansion aligns with broader regional ambitions, such as Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which targets autonomous vehicles for 15% of its public transport.
For Uber, the partnership is a key pillar of its strategy to become the "operating system" for autonomous mobility, having already secured similar agreements with Waymo in the U.S. and Avride in Dallas.