Uber teams up with China's Baidu on global robotaxi rollout
Baidu's autonomous vehicles will be available on the Uber app in Asia and the Middle East later this year, the companies said in a statement Tuesday. Thousands of vehicles will be deployed as part of the partnership, the companies said. Future rollouts will also include Europe and Oceania, an Uber spokesperson said.
Shares of Uber rose as much as 1.4% after markets opened in New York. Baidu's American depositary receipts jumped as much as 7%.
Baidu, which runs one of the largest fleets of robotaxis in China, is the latest Chinese autonomous driving technology company to partner with Uber to launch its services overseas. Baidu's robotaxi service, Apollo Go, has provided more than 11 million public rides in more than a dozen cities globally, exceeding the 10 million rides by Alphabet's Waymo as of late May. Baidu has also been eyeing an expansion of its services in Switzerland, Singapore and Malaysia.
Other Chinese firms like U.S.-listed WeRide, Pony AI and Momenta have also struck agreements with Uber to offer robotaxis on the platform in some European and Middle Eastern markets in the years ahead.
San Francisco-based Uber has struck more than a dozen global partnerships with technology developers and automakers, including Waymo, as it positions itself as an investor and commercialization platform for driverless vehicles, rather than developing the technology in-house. Autonomous rides are currently available on the Uber app in Phoenix, Austin, Atlanta and Abu Dhabi thanks to those arrangements.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NHK
11 hours ago
- NHK
SoftBank Group aims for self-proliferating AI agent system
Japanese technology giant SoftBank Group says it aims to create a system enabling artificial intelligence to develop another, more efficient AI model. That's through using AI agents which can perform tasks without human input. Chairman and CEO Son Masayoshi said such a system would be the world's first in which AI agents proliferate by themselves. Son said the age when humans program artificial intelligence is coming to an end "before our eyes." He added, "Our group is in the process of replacing programming by humans with that of AI agents." Son said he aims to create one billion types of AI agents in his group by the end of this year. The company says it is developing them to handle tasks such as schedule management, business negotiations and the preparation of documents for meetings. Japanese electronics firms Fujitsu and NEC are also developing AI agents.
Japan Times
11 hours ago
- Japan Times
Beneath China's resilient economy, a life of pay cuts and side hustles
Chinese state firm employee Zhang Jinming makes up for a 24% cut to his salary by delivering food for three hours every night after work and on weekends — and hopes he can avoid awkward encounters with colleagues. "Being a part-time delivery person while working for a state-owned enterprise isn't exactly considered respectable," said Zhang, whose real estate firm now pays him 4,200 yuan ($585) per month, down from 5,500 yuan. While China has supported economic growth by keeping its ports and factories humming, the lack of real demand has hit profits, in turn squeezing workers like Zhang through wage cuts and forcing them to moonlight. "There's just no other way," added the 30-year-old, who rides his scooter until 11.30 pm, making 60-70 yuan per evening. "The pay cut has put me under huge pressure. Many colleagues have resigned and I took over their workload." China's economy posted robust 5.2% growth in the second quarter, showing its export-heavy model has so far withstood U.S. tariffs. But beneath the headline resilience, cracks are widening. Contract and bill payment delays are rising, including among export champions like the autos and electronics industries and at utilities, whose owners — indebted local governments — have to run a tight shop while shoring up tariff-hit factories. Ferocious competition for a slice of external demand, hit by global trade tensions, is crimping industrial profits, fueling factory-gate deflation even as export volumes climb. Workers bear the brunt of companies cutting costs. Falling profits and wages shrank tax revenues, pressuring state employers like Zhang's to cut costs as well. In pockets of the financial system, non-performing loans are surging as authorities push banks to lend more. For the most part, the lopsided nature of growth in the world's second-largest economy is a product of policies that favour exporters over consumers. Economists have long urged Beijing to redirect support to domestically focused sectors, such as education and healthcare, or boost household consumption — for instance, by bolstering welfare — or risk a slowdown in the second half of the year. Max Zenglein, Asia-Pacific senior economist at the Conference Board of Asia, describes China as a "dual-speed economy" with strong industry and weak consumption, noting the two are related. "Some of the economic challenges including low profitability and deflationary pressure are largely driven by continued capacity expansion in the manufacturing and technology sectors," said Zenglein. "What's unfolding now" in the trade war with the U.S. is "coming back home as a domestic issue." Hit to incomes Frank Huang, a 28-year-old teacher in Chongzuo, a city of more than 2 million people near the Vietnam border, in the indebted Guangxi region, says his school has not paid him in two to three months, waiting for authorities to provide the funds. "I can only endure, I don't dare to quit," said Huang, who relies on parents when his 5,000 yuan paycheck doesn't arrive. "If I were married with a mortgage, car loan and child, the pressure would be unimaginable." Another teacher from Linquan, a rural county of 1.5 million in eastern China, said she is only receiving her basic 3,000 yuan monthly salary. The performance-based part of her pay, usually about 16%, "has been consistently delayed." "After I pay for gas, parking and property management fees, what's left isn't enough for groceries," said the teacher, who only gave her surname Yun for privacy reasons. "I feel like begging," added Yun. "If it weren't for my parents, I would starve." A delivery driver rests on his electric bike in Beijing on Jan. 25. | REUTERS There is no data on payment delays in the government sector. But among industrial firms, arrears have grown quickly in sectors with a strong state presence, either through industrial policy or — like in utilities — through direct ownership. Arrears in the computer, communication and electronic equipment sector and in autos manufacturing — two priorities for China's economic planners — rose by 16.6% and 11.2%, respectively, in the year through May, faster than the 9% average across industries. Overdue payments were up 17.1% and 11.1% in the water and gas sectors. These figures suggest liquidity stress and are a side-effect of authorities prioritising output over demand, said Minxiong Liao, senior economist at GlobalData TS Lombard APAC. "The result should be slower growth for these champion sectors," in the future, he said. Spending deferred With incomes under pressure, Beijing is struggling to meet its pledge to lift household consumption and worries are growing that persistent deflation will further damage the economy as consumers defer spending. Huang Tingting quit her waitress job last month after business at her restaurant — and most shops nearby — plummeted in April, at the height of U.S.-China trade tensions. Responding to plunging revenues, the restaurant owner asked staff to take four unpaid leave days every month. "I still have to pay rent and live my life," said the 20-year-old from the eastern Jiangsu province, an export powerhouse that's outpacing national growth, explaining why she quit. In the past, though, she could find another restaurant job in a day or two. This time, she's been unemployed since June. One recruiter told her a job she applied for had more than 10 other candidates. "The job market this year is worse than last year," said Huang.
Japan Times
12 hours ago
- Japan Times
More kids going hungry during school holidays as food costs soar, survey finds
A growing number of children in single-parent households are eating two meals or fewer a day during school holidays, as rising food and utility prices place additional pressure on families already struggling to make ends meet, according to a survey by Tokyo-based nonprofit Good Neighbors Japan. The group surveyed 2,105 parents and guardians in early June, all of whom use its food bank program 'Good Gohan,' which distributes free groceries to low-income single-parent households. Around 96.1% of respondents were women, and 53.5% were in their 40s. Many families said the absence of school-provided lunches during long breaks leaves them unable to cover rising food costs. For 61.3% of respondents, household finances become 'much harder' during school holidays, while 36.4% reported that things become 'somewhat harder.' The most common coping mechanism at 62.9% was for parents to reduce their own food intake, with some noting that even their children had started holding back. 'I make meals only for the kids and live off their leftovers,' one parent wrote. 'My oldest son is in middle school and I feel awful that he tries not to eat too much.' Another wrote, 'Last winter break, I barely ate and collapsed from stomach pain. Now I try to at least eat once a day.' The survey also showed that the number of respondents saying that their children eat two meals or fewer a day during holidays was about 2.5 times higher than during the school term, at 32.2%. Ninety percent of respondents said it had become more difficult to prepare adequate meals compared with before recent inflation. The sharp rise in the price of rice was frequently cited as a major concern. 'Food prices are too high, at a time when they need nutrients most,' one parent wrote. 'I can't take time off to line up for discounted rice, and I'm afraid summer vegetable prices will soar too.' Good Neighbors Japan said many households face overlapping challenges of low income, unstable employment and limited time — with roughly half of survey respondents working nonregular jobs and earning less than ¥2 million ($13,400) annually. 'This issue puts both children's growth and parent's health at risk,' the group said in a statement. In response, the organization plans to expand food distribution during the upcoming summer break.
