Ride-hailing company inDrive, which is known for letting passengers and drivers negotiate fares, plans to begin robotaxi testing in Kazakhstan in 2027 together with Chinese autonomous driving firm Pony.ai and chipmaker Nvidia.
The three companies said Friday that they had signed a memorandum of understanding to explore bringing Pony.ai's robotaxis onto inDrive's platform. The agreement reflects growing interest in self-driving technology outside the United States and China.
According to inDrive chief technology officer Yuri Misnik, testing will start in the Kazakh capital, Astana, in the first half of 2027. Rides will initially include a safety operator, with fully driverless service as the eventual goal.
Under the proposed arrangement, Pony.ai would supply its Gen-7 robotaxis, while inDrive would offer them through its app and run the service in Kazakhstan. Nvidia would provide AI technology, including its Hyperion platform and Halos safety system.
Nvidia says Hyperion can cut the cost of building robotaxis by giving developers a ready-made base of sensors and computing hardware, instead of requiring them to build and integrate everything themselves. The company also offers its Alpamayo model and tools for generating synthetic data and testing driving systems across varied scenarios. "Those savings are particularly relevant in emerging markets, where ride-hailing is already relatively affordable and autonomous services need to compete on cost," said Ali Kani, Nvidia's vice president of automotive. The announcement coincided with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's first visit to Kazakhstan on Friday.
The move comes as larger ride-hailing players push into autonomous vehicles. Earlier this month, Uber announced plans to test Pony.ai's robotaxis in London, where it has also begun offering supervised autonomous rides with British startup Wayve. Uber works with several robotaxi companies in other markets as well, including in the Middle East. Misnik described inDrive's approach as "capital-light by design," saying the company works with partners in different markets and combines their expertise with its own.
For Pony.ai, the proposal adds to a continuing expansion beyond China. The company aims to have more than 3,500 robotaxis running in over 20 cities worldwide by the end of 2026, up from 1,975 vehicles at the end of June.
Kazakhstan has its own plans for the technology. Last month it announced it would launch autonomous taxi services in 2027, with initial trials in Astana and two other cities, and it has introduced rules allowing autonomous vehicles to be tested on certain public roads. Astana, home to around 1.7 million people, has months of snow and ice each winter, which could make it a demanding testing ground. inDrive founder and CEO Arsen Tomsky said a launch there would offer a chance to evaluate the technology in difficult winter conditions, and that success could inform expansion to other places with similar challenges.
Kazakhstan is not inDrive's only robotaxi venture. In December, the company signed a separate agreement with Saudi Arabia's AI Driver to explore deploying vehicles powered by Chinese firm WeRide, starting in Riyadh, with a pilot targeted for the first half of 2026. It is unclear whether testing there has begun. Misnik said inDrive is looking at other markets too, adding that a favorable and collaborative regulatory environment is one of the main requirements for a successful launch. The company operates in more than 1,200 cities across 47 countries and has expanded into delivery, intercity transportation and financial services.
