The companies said Friday that they had signed a memorandum of understanding to explore bringing Pony.ai’s robotaxis to inDrive’s platform — a reflection of the growing interest in self-driving technology beyond the U.S. and China.
Testing will begin in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, in the first half of 2027, inDrive CTO Yuri Misnik told TechCrunch. The tests will initially involve a safety operator, with fully driverless rides as the eventual goal.
Under the proposed plan, Pony.ai would provide its Gen-7 robotaxis, which inDrive would offer through its ride-hailing app and operate in Kazakhstan. Nvidia, on the other hand, would supply the AI technology, including its Hyperion platform and Halos safety system.
inDrive, which has built its business around affordable rides, is looking to bring a similar focus to autonomous ride-hailing as it explores a market where Uber and other rivals are already making moves.
“Our approach is capital-light by design,” said Misnik. “We work with a range of partners in different markets, combining their expertise with ours to deliver a better customer experience.”
Nvidia says its Hyperion platform could lower the cost of developing robotaxis by giving companies a ready-made foundation of sensors and computing technology, rather than requiring them to build and integrate everything themselves. The company also offers its Alpamayo model and tools to generate synthetic data and test autonomous driving systems across different driving scenarios.
“Those savings are particularly relevant in emerging markets, where ride-hailing is already relatively affordable and autonomous services need to compete on cost,” Ali Kani, Nvidia’s vice president of automotive, told TechCrunch.
The announcement coincides with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s first visit to Kazakhstan on Friday.