News
As autonomous pilots accelerate across Europe, Croatia’s capital, Zagreb, represents the latest test bed for robotaxi trials, thanks to a partnership between Uber, Pony.ai, and autonomous technology start-up Verne.
The partnership brings together the autonomous driving technology of Chinese robotaxi developer Pony.ai with Verne’s fleet management expertise.
Uber, which is placing its bets on autonomous mobility through a number of partnerships with companies such as autonomous start-up Wayve and EV maker Rivian, will act as the ride-hailing platform. The Uber app will operate in conjunction with Verne’s own digital app.
The companies issued a joint statement announcing the partnership, saying the collaboration aims to “build a scalable path toward commercial robotaxi services in Zagreb and, over time, potentially into additional European cities and other markets, with plans to scale to a fleet of thousands of robotaxis over the next few years.”
Verne, a lesser-known Croatian start-up, is teaming up with two titans in the world of autonomous mobility and the ride-hail sector. The project, spearheaded by the founder of Rimac Group, Mate Rimac, began in 2019 under the name Project 3 Mobility.
Rather than developing its own autonomous driving system, Verne is focusing on day-to-day operations, including cleaning, maintenance, and the back-end infrastructure of fleet management.
Verne CEO Marko Pejkovic spoke on the importance of scalable autonomous technology, saying in a statement:
“Europe needs autonomous mobility that can move from testing to a real service. 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.”
The trio is already testing its autonomous fleet, with plans to scale to a commercial service in the near future.
Keep up-to-date with the latest mobility news by subscribing to MOVEMNT’s free newsletter
