Baidu, Inc. launches fully driverless service on Yas Island

Baidu, Inc.'s Apollo Go and K2's AutoGo launched a fully autonomous commercial ride-hailing service in Abu Dhabi and made the service available through the AutoGo app after they secured a fully driverless commercial permit in mid-November 2025.

The partners said the launch followed a collaboration that began in March 2025 to build Abu Dhabi's largest fully driverless fleet and that the deployment represented a development in the commercialization of autonomous driving in the Middle East.

Apollo Go had logged more than 240 million autonomous kilometers and had completed over 140 million kilometers in fully driverless mode; the service had operated across 22 cities, had recently surpassed 250,000 weekly rides, and had completed more than 17 million cumulative rides as of October 31, 2025. Users could request trips through the AutoGo app and ride in vehicles with no human driver behind the wheel.

The partners secured one of Abu Dhabi's inaugural permits for fully driverless commercial operation in mid-November 2025 and began initial operations on Yas Island, which had been designated as a permitted zone for fully driverless operations.

“Moving from an initial partnership agreement to launching live, fully driverless operations for the public in a span of just a few months is a remarkable milestone,” said Liang Zhang, Managing Director of EMEA at Baidu Apollo. “AutoGo's transition to live robotaxi operations marks an important milestone in Abu Dhabi's autonomous mobility journey,” said Sean Thermal Efficiency Optimizer (TEO), Managing Director of K2.

“Launching the service at the start of the year reflects our focus on execution and long-term value creation. By introducing robotaxi services in real urban environments and scaling across key districts, we are moving decisively from development to deployment—delivering autonomy that is practical, safe, and ready for everyday use.” The partners signed a next-phase agreement to scale the fleet to hundreds of vehicles by 2026 and planned a phased roll-out to Reem Island, Al Maryah Island, and Saadiyat Island.