Russia’s technology company Yandex has said it is “interrupting” testing of its autonomous vehicle and sidewalk robot in the United States. The news was first reported by Automotive News.
The company said it was not running its robotics fleet in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as well as a Grubhub delivery service powered by its six-wheeled sidewalk robots. “We hope to resume operations in the future,” a spokesman said.
The news comes as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to spark waves around the world. The conflict has sparked fierce protests among Western countries, prompting many to sever business ties with Russian companies. Russia announced on Friday that it was blocking access to Facebook.
The news comes as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to spark waves around the world
Yandex began working on AV technology in 2016, demonstrating its first successful test on the snow-covered streets of Moscow a year later. The company made its international debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in 2019, allowing people to ride in its fully autonomous vehicles (ie no one behind the wheel) on public roads. And in 2020, Yandex opened a technology center in Ann Arbor, bringing some of its AV to test public roads.
Meanwhile, the company has launched a pilot delivery service with GrubHub, using its six-wheeled sidewalk robots on the campuses of Ohio State University and the University of Arizona.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has far-reaching consequences for companies such as Yandex, which had international ambitions. Uber, for example, has accelerated the sale of its stake in the joint venture with Yandex.Taxi. Uber, which sold its Russian-based operations to Yandex in 2017, had a 29% stake in the venture, which was valued at about $ 800 million at the end of 2021.
Uber is also removing its executives from the Yandex board. The company initiated the sale of its stake in Yandex last August, but this process accelerated after the invasion of Ukraine.