While the tech world has been fixated on the robotaxi turf wars in San Francisco and Phoenix, the first commercial autonomous ride-hailing service in Europe just went live in a city you probably weren’t expecting: Zagreb, Croatia. Verne, an autonomous mobility company spun out of electric hypercar maker Rimac Group, officially launched its service on April 8, 2026.
This isn’t some closed-course demo. The public can book and pay for rides through the Verne app, with the service soon to be integrated into the Uber app following a strategic partnership. The operation is a three-way powerhouse collaboration: Pony.ai, a global leader in autonomous tech, provides the brains; Verne owns and operates the fleet; and Uber provides its massive ride-hailing network. For now, the vehicles are Arcfox Alpha T5 electric cars equipped with Pony.ai’s seventh-generation autonomous driving system. And yes, for this “early phase,” there’s still a human safety operator behind the wheel, just in case the AI gets a sudden craving for burek.
Why is this important?
This launch represents a major milestone for autonomous mobility in Europe, moving the technology from years of testing into a tangible commercial service. The partnership model is particularly noteworthy; instead of a go-it-alone approach, Verne has combined best-in-class technology from Pony.ai and a world-class user platform from Uber to accelerate its market entry.
It also marks a strategic pivot. Verne had previously planned to launch with its own purpose-built vehicle using technology from Mobileye. By deploying with an existing vehicle and a new partner, the company gets a critical first-mover advantage in the European market. With plans to expand to 11 more cities across the EU, UK, and Middle East, Verne’s quiet launch in Zagreb could be the starting gun for the robotaxi race on a whole new continent.
