Verne, Pony AI and Uber Technologies have partnered to enter the race to launch the first commercial robotaxi service in Europe, with the three companies targeting Zagreb, Croatia. Initial deployment work is already underway, including public-road validation.
“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 multimarket deployment, to build a scalable and sustainable autonomous mobility ecosystem.”
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. Verne will act as fleet owner and service operator, and Uber will integrate the service into its global ride-hailing network, complementing Verne’s customer-facing platform.
The companies aim to develop a scalable path toward commercial robotaxi services in Zagreb, with plans to expand into other European cities and additional markets, and to grow the fleet to several thousand vehicles.
“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.”
As part of the collaboration, the companies have begun on-road testing in 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 positioned to become the first market for commercial robotaxi services in Europe.
Verne will lead efforts to ensure market readiness and secure European regulatory approvals, while coordinating the deployment of Pony.ai’s robotaxis across the Verne and Uber networks. The approach is intended to support consistent performance, safety and user experience, and provide a scalable framework for expansion into additional markets. As part of the partnership, Uber plans to invest in Verne and support its growth as a strategic partner.
“Through a strong ecosystem of partnerships, autonomous mobility can scale both 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.”
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