Startups·23 October 2026·1 min readTechnical readSource-backed

Uber rival inDrive eyes 2027 robotaxi tests in Central Asia with Pony.ai and Nvidia

Ride-hailing firm inDrive plans to test robotaxis in Kazakhstan by 2027 through a partnership with autonomous driving company Pony.ai and chipmaker Nvidia. The companies announced Friday they signed a memorandum of understanding to bring self-driving vehicles to inDrive’s platform.

By WireUnwired Editorial Team

Editorial illustration for Uber rival inDrive eyes 2027 robotaxi tests in Central Asia with Pony.ai and Nvidia — WireUnwired deterministic editorial visual

WIREUNWIRED BRIEF

The initial tests will include a safety operator inside the vehicle, with fully driverless rides as the long-term goal. Pony.ai will supply its Gen-7 robotaxis, while Nvidia provides its Hyperion AI platform and Halos safety system. The collaboration allows inDrive to pursue a capital-light approach by partnering with established technology providers.

Nvidia stated its Hyperion platform can lower robotaxi development costs by supplying ready-made sensors and computing hardware. Those cost savings are especially important for emerging markets where ride-hailing is already affordable. Astana's harsh winters, which bring months of snow and ice, will provide a challenging environment to evaluate the self-driving technology.

InDrive founder and CEO Arsen Tomsky said success in Astana could yield insights for expanding autonomous mobility to other cold-weather locations.

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SOURCE & ATTRIBUTION

TechCrunch

Original author: Jagmeet Singh

Original publication: 23 October 2026 09:30

Read full story on TechCrunch ↗

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Write a source-grounded news brief of about 175 words (acceptable range: 140-200). Your job is to make the reader understand more than they would from a headline or raw feed item. Do not merely paraphrase every sentence in order.

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STORY TITLE:
Uber rival inDrive eyes 2027 robotaxi tests in Central Asia with Pony.ai and Nvidia
SOURCE:
TechCrunch
ORIGINAL URL:
https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/22/uber-rival-indrive-eyes-2027-robotaxi-tests-in-central-asia-with-pony-ai-and-nvidia/

SOURCE EXCERPT:
inDrive plans to begin testing Pony.ai's robotaxis in Kazakhstan's capital in the first half of 2027.

Last updated 23 October 2026 12:18

Original sourceTechCrunch ↗