A little-known Croatian startup is coming to the robotaxi market with the help of Uber

Matej Rimac, founder of the Croatian electric car maker Rimac Group, started working in the field of electric robotics seven years ago. Now, part of his vision is coming to fruition through a strategic partnership between Uber, Chinese self-driving vehicle company Pony.ai, and his own robotics company Verne.

On Thursday, the three companies announced plans to launch a commercial robotaxi service in Europe, starting in Zagreb, Croatia. Pony.ai will supply the self-driving system and a robotaxi called Arcfox Alpha T5 which was developed with Chinese automaker BAIC. Fern will own and operate the fleet, and Uber will provide its extensive network of ride-hailing services.

The ride-hailing giant also indicated that it intends to invest an undisclosed amount in Verne and support future expansion as a strategic partner.

The companies did not provide a specific date for the launch of the commercial service, although road testing in Zagreb – where the Rimac Group is based – is already underway.

Verne doesn’t have the same recognizable name as Waymo or Tesla — at least not in the United States. But she has the same big ambitions.

Verne began in 2019 as a project called Project 3 Mobility (or P3) within the Rimac Group, a growing ecosystem of companies that includes supercar maker Rimac Bugatti, Rimac Energy and Rimac Technology. Mate Rimac has a 23% stake in the group.

There were occasional updates about the project, but it wasn’t until July 2024 – when Verne was launched Financing amounting to 100 million euros -For the public to get a more detailed look at his plans.

Rimac’s vision has always been for Verne to operate an urban robotaxi service with purpose-built two-seater electric vehicles. That may seem like an odd task to the person behind the Nevera, an electric supercar that starts at around $2.2 million. But as he explained to this reporter two years ago, Rimac has never been interested in making a full-sized electric car driven by humans — precisely because he believes self-driving vehicle technology will make that work obsolete.

“It’s going to take some time, but it’s coming; I’m sure of it,” he told me at the time.

Verne is not developing its own self-driving system. Instead, the company is focusing on urban electric vehicles, ride-hailing applications, and back-end infrastructure for fleet management, including cleaning and maintenance.

Verne plans to produce its own robotaxis at a new factory in Loko, Croatia, which is expected to begin operations later this year.

Verne has yet to launch the two-seater, nor did it provide an update on the vehicles in its announcement with Uber and Pony.ai. The company said in November that it had produced and tested 60 prototypes for verification.

For now, the Verne robotaxi service will use the Pony.ai-BAIC vehicle, the Arcfox Alpha T5. Users will be able to greet one via Uber as well as through Verne’s own app.

Verne is starting small with its commercial launch, but plans to expand to “a fleet of thousands of robotaxis over the next few years,” according to Thursday’s announcement. Its aspirations extend beyond the borders of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia and the headquarters of the Rimac Group.

“Europe needs autonomous mobility that can move from testing to real service,” Verne CEO Marko Pejkovic said in a statement. “At Verne, we combine the technology, platform and operational capabilities needed to make this happen, starting in Zagreb before expanding to new markets.”