Lyft to partner with Chinese AI firm Baidu to bring robotaxis to Europe in 2026

American rideshare company Lyft said it is partnering with Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) firm Baidu to bring robotaxis to Europe next year. 

The partnership will see Baidu’s sixth-generation Apollo Go autonomous vehicles (AVs) available for rides on the Lyft app in Germany and the United Kingdom “pending regulatory approval,” Lyft said Monday in a press release.

Baidu plans to scale up its fleet to “thousands of vehicles” throughout Europe in the coming years, it said in a post on the social media platform X.

The announcement comes days after Lyft announced it had acquired the taxi app FREENOW from BMW and Mercedes Benz for approximately $200 million (€172.8 million), expanding its operations to 180 cities across nine countries in Europe.

Lyft, which has had very little presence in Europe so far, said it will prioritise Germany and the UK due in part to FREENOW’s existing presence in these countries as well as their “deep relationships with local regulators and taxi operators”.

For Baidu, it’s the latest in a series of partnerships to expand its reach outside China. 

Last month, Baidu partnered with Uber to bring its autonomous cars to markets outside of the United States and China, focusing specifically on the Middle East in cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi as well as Asia. 

“Buckle up! Your driverless ride is on its way,” Baidu said Monday.