BRIEF: Uber to offer Momenta robotaxi service, starting in Europe

Autonomous driving technology company Momenta will offer robotaxi service over Uber’s (UBER.US) ride hailing platform in markets outside the U.S. and China, starting with an unspecified European market, the two companies announced on Friday. They said the first service under their new partnership will launch early next year.

“This cooperation marks an exciting milestone as we bring our Robotaxi technology, efficiently integrated on a mass-production vehicle platform, to new international markets,” said Momenta CEO Cao Xudong.

The tie-up comes after Uber announced a similar partnership last September to offer robotaxi service on its platform from China’s WeRide (WRD.US), starting with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), by the end of last year. Momenta and WeRide are competing with Chinese rivals Baidu (BIDU.US; 9888.HK) and Pony AI (PONY.US), as well as Google-backed Waymo, to bring their robotaxis to a growing number of global markets.  

WeRide and Pony AI made U.S. listings last year, raising $440 million and $260 million, respectively. Momenta was aiming to follow with its own U.S. listing, and its plan was approved by the Chinese securities regulator last June. But Momenta has yet to make any filings with the U.S. securities regulator, even as its original approval from the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) gets set to expire next month. If it fails to list by then, it will need to reapply to the CSRC for new approval.

By Doug Young

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