Matt Remek, founder of Remek Group, a Croatian electric vehicle manufacturer, started work on Electric Robotex seven years ago. Now, part of his vision is being realized through a strategic partnership between Uber, Chinese autonomous vehicle company Pony.ai, and his own robotics startup Verne.

The three companies on Thursday announced plans to launch a commercial robotaxis service in Europe, starting in Zagreb, Croatia. Pony.ai will provide the autonomous driving system and a robotaxi called the Arcfox Alpha T5, developed with Chinese automaker BAIC. Vern will own and operate the fleet, and Uber will provide its extensive ride-hailing network.

The ride-hailing giant also indicated that it plans to invest an undisclosed amount in Vern and support future expansion as a strategic partner.

The companies did not provide a specific launch date for the commercial service, although on-road testing in Zagreb – where Rimac Group is based – is already underway.

Vernon doesn’t have a name like Vimo or Tesla — at least not in the United States. But he has similar ambitions.

Verne launched in 2019 as a project called Project 3 Mobility (or P3) within the Rimac Group, a growing ecosystem of companies that includes hypercar maker Rimac Bugatti, Rimac Energy, and Rimac Technology. Matt holds a 23 percent stake in Remake Group.

There were occasional updates on the project, but it wasn’t until July 2024 – when Vern launched with it. 100 million euros in funds – that the public got a more detailed look at his plans.

Remake’s vision has always been for Vern to run an urban robotaxi service with purpose-built two-seater electric vehicles. That might sound like an odd mission for the man behind the Nivera, an electric hypercar that starts at around $2.2 million. But as he explained to this reporter a few years ago, Rimac has never been interested in building a high-volume EV driven by humans — mainly because it believes autonomous vehicle technology will make the business obsolete.

“It’s going to take some time, but it’s coming; I’m sure of it,” he told me at the time.

Vern is not developing its own self-driving system. Instead, the company’s focus is on an urban electric vehicle, a ride-hailing app, and back-end infrastructure for fleet management, including cleaning and maintenance.

Vern plans to manufacture its Robotaxis EV at a new factory in Lučko, Croatia, expected to begin operations later this year.

Verne has yet to launch the two-seater, nor has it provided any updates on the vehicles in its announcement with Uber and Pony.ai. The company said in November that it had built and tested 60 verification prototypes.

For now, the Verne robotaxis service will use the Pony.ai-BAIC vehicle, the Arcfox Alpha T5. Users will be able to hail one through Uber as well as Verne’s own app.

Vern is starting small with its commercial launch, but plans to grow to a “fleet of thousands of Robotaxes in the next few years,” according to Thursday’s announcement. And its ambitions extend far beyond the borders of Zagreb, the Croatian capital and home of the Remek Group.

“Europe needs autonomous mobility that can move from testing to real service,” Vern CEO Marko Pejkovic said in a statement. “At Verne, we are bringing together the technology, platform, and operational capabilities needed to make this a reality, starting in Zagreb before expanding to new markets.”