Baidu starts testing robotaxis in London as the city becomes the world's autonomous proving ground

Baidu joins Waymo and Uber in London as the city becomes a three-nation robotaxi battleground

Baidu has started testing its Apollo Go RT6 robotaxis on the streets of London, joining Waymo and Uber in a city where autonomous vehicle programs from three countries now operate on the same roads 1.

The Chinese tech giant's arrival comes through a partnership with Lyft and Freenow, the German taxi and multi-mobility app that Lyft acquired in 2025 for roughly $197 million 1. Dozens of test vehicles are now operating in the borough of Brent with human safety operators behind the wheel. The companies expect to open rides to the public in 2027, pending regulatory approval from Transport for London 1.

Waymo began its own London testing with human safety operators in April 1. Uber and its self-driving tech partner Wayve have opened an interest list for a robotaxi service they plan to launch in the city this year 1. With Baidu now on the ground, London hosts autonomous vehicle stacks from the US, China, and the UK, all testing on the same streets and answering to the same regulators.

Nobody is going solo

Every entrant in London arrived through a partnership that splits the work. Baidu built the Apollo Go RT6 but needs Lyft and Freenow to reach riders. Uber paired with Wayve for the autonomous software. The companies developing the best self-driving technology are not the same companies that will own the consumer relationship.

Freenow by Lyft, the service through which Baidu's vehicles will eventually be hailed, plans to operate what it calls a hybrid network: human drivers alongside robotaxis 1. The platform that aggregates both human-driven and autonomous trips controls the rider, the pricing, and the data flowing back into route optimization.

One regulator, three stacks

The UK government is constructing its autonomous vehicle framework in real time. In May, it opened applications for a pilot program that lets companies test self-driving vehicles under government oversight 1. Transport for London and the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles are the gatekeepers any company must satisfy to move from testing to carrying paying passengers 1.

That structure differs from the American approach, where robotaxi operators negotiate a patchwork of state-level rules and city-by-city agreements. In London, all three entrants face the same authority, the same approval process, and the same narrow, congested streets. If one stack handles left-hand traffic, roundabouts, and cyclist-heavy intersections better than the others, the comparison happens under matched conditions.

Freenow CEO Thomas Zimmermann said the priority is using autonomous technology to support existing professional drivers 1. The language mirrors Uber's hybrid network framing. Both platforms are building toward a model where robotaxis supplement their existing driver fleets rather than replacing them outright.

The strategic implication runs deeper than the technology. Baidu and Wayve are supplying the autonomous software. Lyft and Uber own the apps that riders already use. If the robotaxi market follows the pattern of ride-hailing before it, distribution will compound: the platform with the most existing riders attracts the most robotaxi supply, which improves wait times, which attracts more riders. The company that wins London may not be the one with the best self-driving stack. It may be the one whose app is already open on the most phones.