Uber is to start rolling out self-driving taxis next year after striking a deal to take a $300m (£224m) stake in a US electric vehicle maker.

As part of the arrangement, Baidu will introduce thousands of its Apollo Go autonomous vehicles on Uber’s platform in areas outside of China and the United States.

Baidu has established a good reputation in China. It has already made more than 11 million robotaxi rides, being one of the largest autonomous ride-hailing services worldwide. In the meantime, Uber has abandoned its efforts to develop its own self-driving technology and instead formed partnerships with the leading AV firms such as Waymo,

Uber just announced a deal today with the company that runs one of the largest robotaxi fleets in China, as the ridehail giant nears its goal of becoming the world’s ultimate autonomous vehicle clearinghouse.

Uber and China's Baidu will partner to deploy thousands of Baidu's Apollo Go autonomous vehicles on the Uber platform across several international markets outside the U.S. and mainland China, the companies said on Tuesday.

Uber and Baidu soon want to offer robotaxi services outside China and the USA. A newly signed strategic partnership provides for thousands of Baidu's

Baidu and Uber are teaming up to deploy thousands of the Chinese company's autonomous vehicles across global markets on the ride-hailing app's platform. The companies said Tuesday that the partnership will increase the supply of affordable and reliable ridesharing options by bringing Baidu's robotaxi unit onto Uber's network.

Uber has partnered with a number of firms for robotaxi services, but this latest alliance is getting more attention than most.

Tesla expanded the ‘geofence’ for its robotaxi pilot service in Austin, Texas, less than a month after its launch.