inDrive plans robotaxi tests in Kazakhstan in 2027
TechCrunch: Uber rival inDrive eyes 2027 robotaxi tests in Central Asia with Pony.ai and Nvidia
inDrive plans to begin testing Pony.ai's robotaxis in Kazakhstan's capital in the first half of 2027.
Get smart on it
Ride-hailing company inDrive has signed an agreement with autonomous driving firm Pony.ai and Nvidia to test robotaxis in Kazakhstan starting in the first half of 2027, with initial rides operated by a safety operator before moving toward fully driverless service. Nvidia will provide AI technology and computing platforms designed to lower robotaxi development costs, while Pony.ai supplies the vehicles for deployment through inDrive's ride-hailing app. This expansion reflects growing interest in autonomous vehicle technology outside the U.S. and China, with Kazakhstan's harsh winters offering a challenging testing environment for the technology. The move positions inDrive to compete in robotaxi services across multiple markets, following similar announcements from competitors like Uber.
Relevant courses
Want to go deeper than the news? Explore live, cohort-based AI courses taught by practitioners.
Browse AI courses on MavenRelated news
Dream Labs raises $90M and launches Dream API
Dream Labs said its models learn how the physical world works from video and can control new robots without any data. | Source: Dream Labs More brains are coming for robots. Dream Labs this week said it has raised $90 million in seed funding. The company also launched Dream API, a publicly available application programming interface to turn a robot’s camera feed and a plain-English instructions into motor commands, even for robots it has never seen before. Factories worldwide run a record
Eiliko maker says it’s hiring an ‘independent security firm’ after Verge report on its insecure robots
The Eiliko robot toy. | Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge Eiliko, a cute robot charm you can hang on your bag with built-in AI conversations, turned out to be a security nightmare. It told owners that "your secrets are safe with me," but hackers could easily read complete transcripts of everything we told the toy, and that was just the beginning. The Verge and security researcher Sammy Azdoufal spent over a month trying to get in contact with the company, including emails to E
AGCO to deploy Agility Digit humanoid in Kansas factory
The news comes as Agility inches closer to its IPO via SPAC and after it announced the latest version of Digit. | Source: Agility Robotics AGCO and Agility Robotics have signed a commercial agreement to deploy Agility’s Digit humanoid in AGCO’s manufacturing facility. The U.S. pilot, expected to begin in 2027, will support AGCO’s efforts to create more flexible, intelligent factories, beginning at its production site in Hesston, Kan. “This strategic relationship views humanoid roboti
Eka is worth $1.45B thanks to a physical AI model that has experts raving
Eka Robotics may be the first robotic arm that is actually good at picking a wide range of objects up, and it is so smooth and human-like, it is wowing the industry.
Gecko Robotics secures $300M contract with the U.S. Navy
Gecko’s suite of technologies ensures data integrity by collecting and integrating full-coverage, high-fidelity data layers. | Source: Gecko Robotics Gecko Robotics this week said it has earned an additional $300 million its contract with the U.S. Navy and General Services Administration. With the increase, the U.S. Navy and GSA have quadrupled the ceiling value on Gecko’s contract for slashing maintenance delays and improving fleet readiness. The news came just six months after an initial
Meet Mori, a Cute Robot Mushroom That Doesn’t Really Say (or Do) Anything
Step one in convincing people to live with robots with cameras on their faces? Disguise them as cute home decor.