Uber partners with China's Pony AI to deploy self-driving taxis in key Middle East market

(Reuters) -Uber said on Tuesday it was partnering with Pony AI to deploy the China-based robotaxi developer's vehicles onto its ride-hailing platform, marking the latest in a series of tie-ups aimed at strengthening its presence in the fledgling robotaxi sector.

The partnership will launch in a key market in the Middle East later this year and will roll out to more international markets in the future.

During the initial pilot phase, Pony AI's vehicles will include a safety operator onboard before transitioning to a fully autonomous commercial launch.

Uber has signed several new partnerships and expanded existing collaborations in recent weeks, aiming better compete with Lyft and EV-maker Tesla in the robotaxi market.

The company announced deals with self-driving technology firms May Mobility and Momenta last week and recently expanded its partnership with China's WeRide to enter 15 more cities globally. Last year, the company also expanded its tie-up with Alphabet's Waymo.

U.S.-listed shares of Pony AI, which debuted on Nasdaq in November, jumped nearly 13% in premarket trading, while Uber shares ticked 1% lower.

Despite the engineering and regulatory hurdles, tech and EV companies have been racing to develop self-driving systems and eyeing large-scale commercial deployment of robotaxis.

The U.S. federal government is also facilitating the deployment of self-driving vehicles by expanding exemptions from specific safety requirements while maintaining mandatory incident reporting.

Founded in 2016 and backed by Toyota, Guangzhou-based Pony AI has been exploring expansion into South Korea, Luxembourg, the Middle East and other countries. It currently has robotaxi service licences in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen and is seeking to launch the services in Hong Kong.

(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)