Pony.ai, inDrive and NVIDIA have signed a memorandum of understanding to evaluate autonomous ride-hailing in Kazakhstan, with Astana designated as the first test market. The collaboration extends Chinese robotaxi technology into Central Asia and places the inDrive app at the center of a prospective local service.
Three partners, three distinct roles
Pony.ai would provide its seventh-generation robotaxis, inDrive would supply the ride-hailing platform and operate the service, and NVIDIA would support the project with its Hyperion reference platform and Halos safety system. The partners say they will assess technical, operational, regulatory and commercial feasibility.
Astana offers a demanding test environment because of its long, cold winters. The companies argue that Kazakhstan’s new legal framework for driverless transport gives the project a clearer regulatory path than many markets, while the country’s scale makes it a potential bridge to other Central Asian cities.
A roadmap is not yet a robotaxi service
The announcement describes an MOU and a planned evaluation, not an operating commercial launch. It does not give a fleet size, start date, service area or fare structure, and says deployment would follow an agreement with Kazakhstan’s government.
If those gates are cleared, the project would test whether a robotaxi stack proven mainly in Chinese cities can be adapted to a colder climate, a new regulatory system and a ride-hailing platform built around emerging markets.