Uber is partnering with Yandex. Many of you may know much about Yandex. They are Russia’s largest search engine and have their own ride service called Yandex.Taxi.
The Uber service will merge with Yandex in six countries: Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Georgia. Together, the firms will form a new company that includes Uber’s Rides and Eats businesses. The new model will serve more than 35 million trips each month, operating in 127 cities across the region, per Uber.
“The new company’s goal will be to serve the needs of riders, drivers and cities as we develop a fast-growing, sustainable ridesharing, food delivery and logistics business in the region,” Gore-Coty wrote. “Combining Yandex’s local expertise in search, maps, and navigation with our leading global experience in ridesharing will enable us to build the best local services and provide a credible alternative to car ownership across the region.”
The existing Uber and Yandex brands and rider apps will continue to operate for the “foreseeable future” in the six national market. The deal should close in the fourth quarter of this year. After the deal closes, they plan to integrate their driver apps.
