Uber has partnered with Chinese autonomous vehicle (AV) firm Pony AI to deploy robotaxi services in a key Middle Eastern market later this year, further strengthening its position in the global self-driving car race.

During the pilot phase, Pony AI’s autonomous vehicles will operate with a safety driver onboard before transitioning to a fully driverless commercial service.

The partnership builds on Uber’s ongoing strategy to scale autonomous mobility worldwide and better compete with rivals such as Lyft and Tesla.

Uber has recently announced several major AV partnerships. Last week, it revealed deals with US-based May Mobility and China’s Momenta, and expanded its collaboration with WeRide to launch services in 15 cities across the Middle East and Europe.

Uber also broadened its tie-up with Alphabet’s Waymo last year.

Pony AI, backed by Toyota and founded in 2016, holds robotaxi licenses in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.

The company is actively pursuing international expansion, including into Hong Kong, South Korea, Luxembourg, and now the Middle East.

It went public on Nasdaq in November and saw its shares jump nearly 13% in premarket trading after the Uber deal was announced. Uber’s stock slipped about 1%.

Despite ongoing engineering and regulatory challenges, the global push for commercial AV deployment is accelerating. US federal policies are evolving to support the industry by easing safety exemptions while requiring detailed incident reporting.

Uber’s partnership with Pony AI adds to its 15+ AV collaborations as it aims to integrate autonomous rides into its core services. Customers will soon have the option to choose AVs for trips via the Uber app.