inDrive Signs MOU with Nvidia, Pony.ai for Robotaxis

In Short

inDrive signed a memorandum of understanding with NVIDIA and Pony.ai to explore autonomous ride hailing in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan will be the first test market.

What Happened

inDrive said the three companies will evaluate the technical, operational, regulatory, and commercial feasibility of offering “level 4 ready” autonomous vehicles through the inDrive app in Kazakhstan. Level 4 refers to vehicles that can drive themselves in certain conditions without a human driver.

Under the plan, Pony.ai would provide its seventh generation robotaxis, and inDrive would provide the ride hailing platform and run the service. NVIDIA would support the project with NVIDIA AI infrastructure.

The collaboration also sets out a roadmap for bringing Pony.ai robotaxis to Kazakhstan on the inDrive platform, using NVIDIA Hyperion and the NVIDIA Halos safety system. NVIDIA Hyperion is described as a reference sensor and compute platform for Level 4 autonomous vehicles and robotaxis.

inDrive and Pony.ai said they plan to launch robotaxis in Astana using Pony.ai Gen 7 robotaxis. The companies said the launch would follow an agreement with the government of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan was chosen first because of regulatory readiness after the creation of the country’s first structured legal framework for driverless transport, tied to its “Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence.”

Why It Matters

If the Astana launch goes ahead, the companies said they will assess whether the approach can extend to other cities in Kazakhstan and other countries where inDrive operates.

inDrive founder and CEO Arsen Tomsky said Astana’s winter conditions, including snow and ice, will help the partners evaluate autonomous driving in a challenging environment. Pony.ai CEO Dr. James Peng said the company plans to explore how its technology can be adapted to local needs. NVIDIA vice president Rishi Dhall said the partners can explore a path to scalable robotaxi services in Kazakhstan with safety as the foundation.