BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 29. Ride-hailing platform inDrive, autonomous driving technology company Pony.ai and NVIDIA have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the introduction of robotaxis in Kazakhstan, with Astana selected as the potential first deployment location, according to inDrive.
Under the agreement, the three companies will assess the technical, operational, regulatory and commercial feasibility of offering autonomous ride-hailing services through the inDrive app. Kazakhstan will serve as the first test market for the initiative.
Pony.ai would provide its seventh-generation (Gen-7) robotaxis, inDrive would provide the ride-hailing platform and operate the service, while NVIDIA would support the project with its artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The proposed robotaxi service would use NVIDIA Hyperion, a reference sensor and computing platform for Level 4 autonomous vehicles, together with the NVIDIA Alpamayo Stack and NVIDIA Halos full-stack safety system. The collaboration aims to establish a roadmap for introducing robotaxis through the inDrive platform, with a launch in Astana subject to an agreement with the government of Kazakhstan.
According to inDrive, Kazakhstan was selected because of its regulatory readiness following the establishment of the country's first structured legal framework for driverless transport. The companies will also assess how autonomous vehicles perform in local conditions, including Astana's long winters, snow and ice.
"Autonomous mobility has the potential to make transportation more affordable and accessible in the cities we serve. Partnering with NVIDIA and Pony.ai, we want to understand, carefully and responsibly, how this technology could fit Kazakhstan's roads and communities - and what it could mean for riders and drivers across our markets. Kazakhstan’s forward-looking approach to regulating autonomous vehicles creates the environment to do that, and that could serve as a model for other markets. In addition, Astana is also the second-coldest capital in the world, with long winters, snow and ice. Launching here will provide an important opportunity to evaluate autonomous driving technology in challenging winter conditions. Success in Astana could offer valuable insights for expanding autonomous mobility to other locations facing similar challenges,” inDrive founder and CEO Arsen Tomsky said.
Pony.ai founder and CEO James Peng said the company would draw on its experience in scaling fully driverless robotaxi operations in major Chinese cities and expanding into international markets to explore how its technology could be adapted to local requirements.
NVIDIA Vice President of Automotive Rishi Dhall said the collaboration would combine autonomous driving technology and safety systems with a ride-hailing platform to explore the potential for scalable robotaxi services in Kazakhstan.
Following a potential launch in Astana, the companies will assess whether the service could be expanded to other cities in Kazakhstan and other countries where inDrive operates.
inDrive operates in more than 1,200 cities across 47 countries. Its app has been downloaded more than 400 million times and offers services including ride-hailing, intercity transportation, delivery and financial services.
