(Reuters) -Uber ( UBER ) and China's Baidu ( BIDU ) will partner to deploy thousands of Baidu's ( BIDU ) Apollo Go autonomous vehicles on the Uber ( UBER ) platform across several global markets outside the United States and mainland China, the companies said on Tuesday.

The first rollouts are expected in Asia and the Middle East later this year, the companies said.

Baidu's ( BIDU ) Apollo Go operates a fleet of over 1,000 fully driverless vehicles globally, with its presence spanning 15 cities, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi. As of May, Apollo Go had completed more than 11 million rides.

The partnership is the latest in a series of alliances by Uber ( UBER ) in recent months, as the ride-hailing company intensifies efforts to compete with rivals such as Lyft in the robotaxi market.