Uber, autonomous mobility firms to launch Europe's first commercial robotaxis

March 26 (Reuters) - Uber Technologies UBER.N and autonomous mobility companies Verne and Pony.ai have partnered up to launch Europe's first commercial robotaxi service in the Croatian capital Zagreb, with plans to expand to other cities, they said on Thursday.

Robotaxis are rapidly expanding into U.S. cities as companies race to commercialize autonomous ride-hailing worldwide. Alphabet's GOOGL.O Waymo remains the early leader, while Tesla TSLA.O hopes its vast manufacturing scale and financial resources could reshape the competitive landscape.

• The first commercial robotaxi service in Zagreb will be launched "soon", the companies said

• Initial deployment work is underway, including public-road validation

• Pony.ai will provide autonomous driving solutions, while Verne will act as the fleet owner and service operator

• The three companies plan to expand the fleet to thousands of robotaxis in European cities over the next few years

• Uber and Nvidia NVDA.O said earlier this month they planned to expand their robotaxi service in 28 cities across North America, Europe, Australia and Asia