inDrive to Test Robotaxis in Kazakhstan by 2027 with Pony.ai and Nvidia

Executive Overview

inDrive, the ride-hailing company competing with Uber, announced on Friday the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China's Pony.ai and Nvidia to begin robotaxi testing in Astana, Kazakhstan, in the first half of 2027. Under the agreement, Pony.ai will supply its seventh-generation (Gen-7) vehicles, while Nvidia will provide its Hyperion platform and Halos safety system. The move supports Pony.ai's goal of operating more than 3,500 robotaxis across 20 cities by the end of 2026, up from 1,975 vehicles in June. The initiative represents a significant expansion of the robotaxi market beyond the United States and China, with autonomous driving technology being tested in harsh winter conditions.

Deep-Dive Features & Architecture

Under the MoU, Pony.ai will provide its seventh-generation (Gen-7) vehicles, which will be made available through the inDrive app and operated in Kazakhstan. In turn, Nvidia will provide the Hyperion platform, which includes a ready-made suite of sensors and computing hardware, reducing robotaxi development costs by avoiding the need to build and integrate every component from scratch. Nvidia will also provide the Alpamayo model and tools for generating synthetic data and testing autonomous driving systems in various scenarios.

Yuri Misnik, CTO of inDrive, confirmed that testing will begin in Astana in the first half of 2027 with a human safety operator, with the goal of achieving fully driverless rides. He explained that the approach is "capital-light by nature," as the company works with different partners in multiple markets to integrate their expertise with its own. Ali Kani, Nvidia's vice president of automotive, said that the cost savings provided by Hyperion are particularly important in emerging markets where ride-sharing services are already affordable, and self-driving services need to compete on cost.

This move is part of Pony.ai's expansion outside China, as it targets operating more than 3,500 robotaxis in over 20 global cities by the end of 2026, up from 1,975 vehicles at the end of June. Kazakhstan also announced last month plans to launch self-driving taxi services in 2027, with initial trials in Astana and two other cities, and introduced rules for testing autonomous vehicles on specific public roads. Astana, with a population of about 1.7 million, is a suitable location for testing technologies in harsh winter conditions that extend for months of snow and ice.

Benchmark & Competitive Performance

Ride-hailing companies are expanding into the robotaxi space; Uber announced this month plans to test Pony.ai robotaxis in London, where it has also begun offering supervised self-driving rides with British company Wayve. Uber is also working with several robotaxi companies in other markets, including the Middle East. Pony.ai aims to exceed 3,500 robotaxis in 20 cities by the end of 2026, compared to 1,975 vehicles in June, reflecting accelerating global expansion. In contrast, inDrive follows a capital-light approach based on partnerships rather than developing technology in-house, which may give it flexibility in emerging markets.

Industry Impact & Enterprise Adoption

The partnership signals a broader trend of robotaxi deployment moving beyond traditional strongholds in the US and China into Central Asia and the Middle East. By leveraging Nvidia's Hyperion platform, inDrive and Pony.ai can reduce development costs and accelerate time-to-market, making autonomous ride-hailing more accessible in price-sensitive regions. The involvement of Nvidia's Halos safety system and the testing in harsh winter conditions could set new benchmarks for reliability and safety in autonomous driving. Furthermore, inDrive's separate agreement with Saudi Arabia's AI Driver and WeRide indicates a strategic interest in the Middle East, with a trial targeted for the first half of 2026 in Riyadh. This could pave the way for Arabic-language support and regional adoption of robotaxi services.

Conclusion

The inDrive-Pony.ai-Nvidia collaboration marks a significant step toward globalizing robotaxi services, with Kazakhstan serving as a testbed for autonomous driving in challenging winter environments. While specific pricing and performance metrics remain undisclosed, the partnership's capital-light model and use of Nvidia's ready-made Hyperion platform could lower barriers to entry in emerging markets. As Pony.ai scales its fleet to over 3,500 vehicles by the end of 2026, the robotaxi industry is poised for rapid expansion beyond the US and China, with the Middle East also on the horizon.

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