A little-known Croatian startup is coming for the robotaxi market with help from Uber

Mate Rimac, the visionary behind Rimac Group, has been dedicated to the development of electric robotaxis for the past seven years. This pursuit is now taking a significant step forward through an exciting partnership involving Uber, the Chinese autonomous vehicle firm Pony.ai, and Rimac's own startup, Verne. On Thursday, the trio announced their ambitious plans to roll out a commercial robotaxi service in Europe, starting in Zagreb, Croatia. Pony.ai will provide the autonomous driving technology and the Arcfox Alpha T5 robotaxi, designed in collaboration with Chinese automaker BAIC. Meanwhile, Verne will manage the fleet operations, and Uber will leverage its extensive ride-hailing network to facilitate the service. Additionally, Uber has expressed intentions to invest an undisclosed amount in Verne to support its future growth as a strategic partner. While the companies did not specify a launch date for the service, on-road testing is already in progress in Zagreb, the hometown of Rimac Group. Although Verne may not yet be as widely recognized as competitors like Waymo or Tesla, it shares similar ambitions. Established in 2019 as Project 3 Mobility (or P3) within Rimac Group, Verne is part of a larger ecosystem that includes Rimac Bugatti, Rimac Energy, and Rimac Technology, with Mate Rimac holding a 23% stake. The public's first glimpse into Verne's plans came in July 2024, when it debuted with 100 million euros in funding. Rimac's vision for Verne focuses on creating an urban robotaxi service utilizing specially designed two-seater electric vehicles. Although this might seem unusual coming from the creator of the high-end Nevera hypercar, which starts at around $2.2 million, Rimac has consistently emphasized his belief that autonomous vehicle technology will render traditional driving obsolete. Verne is not developing its own self-driving technology; instead, the startup is concentrating on the design of the urban electric vehicle, the ride-hailing application, and the backend infrastructure necessary for fleet management, including maintenance and cleaning. Plans are in place to manufacture these robotaxi EVs at a new facility in Lučko, Croatia, with operations expected to commence later this year. Currently, Verne has not launched its two-seater vehicles and did not provide updates on them during the announcement with Uber and Pony.ai. As of November, the company had successfully produced and tested 60 verification prototypes. For the initial phase of the service, users will be able to summon the Pony.ai-BAIC Arcfox Alpha T5 through the Uber platform as well as Verne's dedicated app. Though Verne's commercial rollout will start modestly, it has ambitious plans to expand, aiming for a fleet of thousands of robotaxis in the coming years. CEO Marko Pejkovic emphasized the need for Europe to transition from testing to real autonomous mobility services, stating, "At Verne, we are bringing together the technology, platform, and operational capabilities required to make this a reality, starting in Zagreb before expanding to new markets."