Mate Rimac, founder of Croatian electric vehicle maker Rimac Group, initiated work on electric robotaxis seven years ago. Now, his vision is progressing through a strategic partnership between Uber, Chinese autonomous vehicle company Pony.ai, and his robotaxi startup Verne.
The three companies announced on Thursday their plans to launch a commercial robotaxi service in Europe, starting in Zagreb, Croatia. Pony.ai will provide the autonomous driving system and a robotaxi known as the Arcfox Alpha T5, developed with Chinese automaker BAIC. Verne will own and operate the fleet, while Uber will offer its expansive ride-hailing network.
Uber also revealed its intention to invest an undisclosed amount in Verne and support future expansion as a strategic partner.
The companies haven’t disclosed a specific launch date for the commercial service, though on-road testing in Zagreb—Rimac Group’s base—is already in progress.
Verne may not have the name recognition like Waymo or Tesla in the United States, but it has similarly ambitious goals.
Verne began in 2019 as a project called Project 3 Mobility (or P3) within Rimac Group, which encompasses hypercar maker Rimac Bugatti, Rimac Energy, and Rimac Technology. Mate Rimac owns a 23% stake in the group.
Occasional updates surfaced about the project, but it wasn’t until July 2024—when Verne launched with 100 million euros in funding—that the public received a more comprehensive view of its plans.
Rimac’s vision for Verne was always to operate an urban robotaxi service with purpose-built two-seater electric vehicles. Although an unusual mission for the creator of the Nevera electric hypercar, starting around $2.2 million, Rimac explained he was never interested in producing a high-volume EV for human drivers, believing autonomous vehicle technology would render such a business obsolete.
“It will take a while, but it’s coming; I’m sure about that,” he told me at the time.
Verne isn’t developing its own self-driving system. Instead, it focuses on the urban electric vehicle, the ride-hailing app, and the back-end infrastructure for fleet management, including cleaning and maintenance.
Verne plans to produce its robotaxi EVs at a new factory in Lučko, Croatia, expected to begin operations later this year.
Verne has not yet launched the two-seaters, nor did it provide an update on these vehicles in its announcement with Uber and Pony.ai. The company stated in November that it had produced and tested 60 verification prototypes.
For now, the Verne robotaxi service will use the Pony.ai-BAIC vehicle, the Arcfox Alpha T5, and users will be able to hail one via Uber or through Verne’s own app.
Starting modestly with its commercial launch, Verne aims to expand to a “fleet of thousands of robotaxis over the next few years,” according to Thursday’s announcement. Its aspirations extend beyond Zagreb, the capital of Croatia and the Rimac Group’s home.
“Europe needs autonomous mobility that can move from testing to a real service,” said Verne CEO Marko Pejkovic in a statement. “At Verne, we are bringing together the technology, platform, and operational capabilities required to make this a reality, starting in Zagreb before expanding to new markets.”