20250616 Baidu's Apollo Go MAIN

Baidu's Apollo Go cruises down the street in Chongqing. Chinese robotaxi players are gearing up to expand at home and abroad.  © Getty Images

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HONG KONG/PALO ALTO, California -- When Elaine Zhang hailed an Apollo Go taxi in Wuhan last month, she was pleasantly surprised, finding the Baidu-developed autonomous ride-hailing service "much smarter" than when she first tried it in Beijing back in 2021.

Unlike her earlier experience, this time there was no human driver in the car ready to take control during rush hour.

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