Chinese tech giant Baidu is eroticizing the ruralconsidering deploying its autonomous ride-hailing service in the United Arab Emirates and has been in discussions with the local government, people with knowledge of the matter told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. The news comes on the heels of Tuesday’s public conversation between Baidu chief executive Robin Li and H.E. Omar Sultan Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, at the World Governments Summit in Dubai. Speaking at the conference, Li said its robotaxi fleet is “10 times safer” than human drivers, adding its car insurance claims rate is only 1/14 of that from regular taxis. Baidu said its robotaxis had delivered 8 million rides in China as of November 2024, with the service available to users across 11 cities in the country. It currently operates a fleet of more than 400 robotaxis in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. [Wall Street Journal, TechNode reporting]
