Baidu and K2’s AutoGo have expanded their partnership to deploy hundreds of autonomous vehicles across Abu Dhabi after receiving one of the emirate’s first fully driverless commercial permits from the Integrated Transport Center (ITC).
The approval allows their autonomous ride-hailing service to begin large-scale public operations, marking a major milestone for the UAE’s smart mobility ambitions.
The permit follows months of fully driverless testing on public roads and confirms the fleet’s readiness for commercial service. The companies plan to scale operations rapidly, with the goal of establishing Abu Dhabi’s largest fully driverless robotaxi fleet by 2026.
“We are thrilled to deepen our partnership with AutoGo and to secure one of Abu Dhabi’s inaugural fully driverless commercial permits,” said Liang Zhang, Managing Director of EMEA, Baidu Apollo.
“Advancing from our initial announcement to fully driverless testing and now commercial readiness within months demonstrates strong local support for autonomous mobility in the UAE.”
Sean Teo, Managing Director of K2, said the partnership aligns with Abu Dhabi’s vision to become a global hub for smart and autonomous vehicle innovation under the SAVI cluster. “The permit reflects our shared capabilities and commitment to transforming mobility in the UAE,” he added.
The announcement took place during Abu Dhabi Autonomous Week (November 10–15), where Apollo Go and AutoGo showcased their fully driverless ride-hailing service. Dr. Abdulla Hamad Al Ghfeli, Director General of ITC, participated in a pilot ride during the event.
Apollo Go, Baidu’s global autonomous ride-hailing brand, has accumulated over 240 million autonomous kilometres across 22 cities and recently surpassed 17 million completed rides.
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