Michael JohnsonRobotaxi rides through the inDrive app could become available in Astana, but for now the project is still in the planning stage. On October 23, 2026, inDrive, Pony.ai and NVIDIA announced a memorandum: the companies intend to assess the technical, operational, regulatory and commercial feasibility of the service in Kazakhstan. Astana is the proposed first city, and a launch is expected to follow an agreement with the country’s government, according to inDrive’s announcement. The timing and project details are also confirmed by Pony.ai’s press release.
The roles have been outlined: Pony.ai is expected to provide its seventh-generation Gen-7 robotaxis, inDrive the app and operating platform, and NVIDIA infrastructure based on Hyperion and the Halos safety system. This is a planned partnership structure, not a description of an operational service. The companies’ announcement does not specify when passenger rides might begin, the fleet size or fares.
Why the project uses NVIDIA’s platform
NVIDIA Hyperion is a reference sensor and computing platform for Level 4 autonomous vehicles and robotaxis. The partners also name the NVIDIA Halos safety system in their project description. The companies have not yet disclosed the vehicle configuration for Kazakhstan or the results of testing on local roads.
For inDrive, this is a way to assess autonomous rides by relying on vehicle and infrastructure providers rather than developing the entire technology stack in-house. The practical challenge goes beyond integrating with the app: the partners will need to assess operations, regulation and the commercial model. These are among the areas included in the announced feasibility assessment.
What needs to happen before rides begin
The announced sequence puts an agreement with the government of Kazakhstan before the launch. The partners will then need to determine where and under what conditions the vehicles can operate, how they will be serviced, and how the system’s readiness for local operating conditions will be assessed. inDrive CEO Arsen Tomsky specifically cited Astana’s winter conditions as an opportunity to evaluate the technology in snow and on icy roads; this is a testing objective, not a published result.
For readers and potential passengers, the next practical milestones are a government agreement, details of test operations, and a move from assessing feasibility to a confirmed launch plan. Rides through inDrive have not yet been announced. The companies also intend to assess whether the project could expand to other cities in Kazakhstan and to markets where inDrive operates after the proposed Astana launch.