The deal aims to increase the availability of affordable and reliable rides by integrating Baidu’s fully driverless cars into Uber’s network.

Baidu has established a good reputation in China. It has already made more than 11 million robotaxi rides, being one of the largest autonomous ride-hailing services worldwide. In the meantime, Uber has abandoned its efforts to develop its own self-driving technology and instead formed partnerships with the leading AV firms such as Waymo,

Uber and Baidu soon want to offer robotaxi services outside China and the USA. A newly signed strategic partnership provides for thousands of Baidu's