Russia’s Yandex has ambitions for global ‘robotaxi’ fleet

A file photo of a self-driving car owned and tested by Yandex company during a presentation in Moscow, Russia. Yandex is competing to build technology that could operate alongside that of ride-hailing firms, such as Lyft and Uber, and provide driverless taxi services globally. — Reuters

MOSCOW: Russian technology giant Yandex wants to launch a worldwide fleet of 'robotaxis' using its driverless car software and thinks this is possible within a few years, the company's head of driverless cars Dmitry Polishchuk told Reuters.

Yandex, which provides an array of online services including ride-hailing and food delivery services, began testing its driverless car technology in 2017 and continues to do so in Moscow and Israel, with a licence to begin testing in the United States from June 2020.