Uber Technologies, Inc. ( UBER ) shares gained on Friday after the ride-hailing giant unveiled a major international push into autonomous mobility through a new alliance with self-driving tech firm Momenta.

The two companies announced a strategic collaboration aimed at deploying autonomous vehicles on Uber's ( UBER ) platform across select global markets—excluding the United States and China—beginning in Europe by early 2026, Benzinga reports.

Under the partnership, the first wave of Robotaxi deployment will take place in Europe and include onboard safety operators.

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The companies plan to merge Uber's ( UBER ) vast ridesharing infrastructure with Momenta's artificial intelligence-powered self-driving systems to create scalable and efficient autonomous mobility services.

In a statement, Xudong Cao, CEO of Momenta, said the cooperation rounds out a broader ecosystem for global deployment, building on the firm's existing partnerships with key chipmakers and automakers. "This cooperation marks an exciting milestone as we bring our Robotaxi technology, efficiently integrated on a mass-production vehicle platform, to new international markets," he said.

Echoing the enthusiasm, Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber ( UBER ) CEO, emphasized that the collaboration marries Uber's ( UBER ) global ridesharing know-how with Momenta's cutting-edge autonomous tech. "We are incredibly excited… paving the way for a future where more riders around the world experience the benefits of reliable and affordable autonomous mobility," he added.

Headquartered in China, Momenta, uses a "flywheel" approach that harnesses real-world data to refine its algorithms and scale its solutions, which have been road-tested across multiple Chinese cities.

Price Action: UBER ( UBER ) shares gained by 4.19% to $84.28 on Friday.

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