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Pony.ai, inDrive and NVIDIA have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore autonomous ride-hailing in Kazakhstan, with Astana, identified as the first potential deployment location.
Announced on 23 October 2026, the collaboration will assess the technical, operational, regulatory and commercial feasibility of offering autonomous rides through the inDrive app. Any launch would be subject to an agreement with the Kazakh government.
A Pony.ai robotaxi in Nansha, Guangzhou
© Business Wire
Under the proposed arrangement, Pony.ai would supply its seventh-generation (Gen-7) robotaxis, while inDrive would provide the ride-hailing platform and operate the service. NVIDIA would contribute AI infrastructure to support the project.
The companies will use NVIDIA Hyperion, a reference sensor and computing platform designed for Level 4 autonomous vehicles. NVIDIA’s wider robotaxi technology offering also includes its Alpamayo Stack and Halos safety system.
Kazakhstan was selected as the initial market following the introduction of a legal framework for driverless transport. The companies said the country’s regulatory developments and established mobility market would provide a basis for assessing autonomous ride-hailing.
Pony.ai’s Gen-7 robotaxis use multi-sensor fusion, system-level redundancy and fail-operational capabilities. The company says its Level 4 autonomous driving technology has been used in fully driverless commercial operations in major Chinese cities, alongside deployments in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Level 4 automation allows a vehicle to perform all driving tasks within defined operational conditions without requiring a human driver to take over during those operations.
Astana, which has a population of approximately 1.7 million, is the proposed starting point for the service. Following an initial launch, the companies intend to assess the potential to expand into other Kazakh cities and international markets where inDrive operates.
The collaboration is at the feasibility stage, with the parties yet to confirm a launch date or detailed operational plans.
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