After revealing news of the partnership, Tony Han, founder and CEO of WeRide, said: “We are honored to partner with Uber to continue to bring our technology to global markets. Together, we aim to combine our collective experience and expertise to deliver much-needed, affordable, sustainable, and safe mobility solutions to a global audience”.

In addition, Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, added: “Uber is very excited to partner with WeRide. It’s clear that the future of mobility will be increasingly shared, electric, and autonomous, and we look forward to working with leading AV companies like WeRide to help bring the benefits of autonomous technology to cities around the world”.

Also Read: How To Find The Best Remote Work Opportunities In The Middle East

The results of the collaboration will hopefully be seen later this year in Abu Dhabi, where a select number of WeRide autonomous vehicles will make their debut for Uber rides across the Emirate. Once the service is live, users who request eligible trips through the Uber app may get the opportunity to travel in a WeRide autonomous vehicle for their journey. The trial scheme is currently limited to the UAE, with no immediate plans by either company for expansion to regions such as the United States or China.

WeRide already operates the largest fleet of robotaxis in the UAE, with its services accessible through the TXAI app. Moreover, in July 2023, the tech company received the UAE’s first national license for self-driving cars, which authorized the testing and operation of autonomous vehicles on public roads throughout the country.

The post WeRide & Uber Join Forces To Launch Autonomous Rides In UAE appeared first on Tech Magazine.

The surprise announcement comes just two months after Qatar’s soccer World Cup, which saw Careem-branded vehicles forming part of the official transport infrastructure, alongside Uber cars and local taxis from Karwa.

“Unfortunately, Careem’s ride-hailing operations will no longer operate in Qatar as of February 28, 2023,” informed the message, telling customers that Careem credit would be refunded by March 15, 2023.

Also Read: Saudi Arabia To Transform Downtown Riyadh By 2030

Careem’s message did not explain the cancellation of the service, and no one has responded to requests for comment, including parent company Uber.

Careem only offered ride-hailing services in Qatar, unlike larger Middle Eastern markets like the United Arab Emirates, where the super app also provides food delivery, digital payments and courier services.

The company suspended its services in Lebanon last year due to the unfavorable economic situation in the country.

The post Careem Suspends Its Ride-Hailing Services In Qatar appeared first on Tech Magazine.

Uber’s systems were breached sometime last week, with employees discovering the hack on Thursday, 15th September. The infiltrator announced their actions on the company’s internal Slack account with a message that read: “I announce I am a hacker and Uber has suffered a data breach.”

Uber claims the hacker is associated with the Lapsus$ group. If that’s true, it means they could also be responsible for a massive data breach of Rockstar Games and its upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA 6) release, as the attacker announced that they were, in fact, the same person.

As far as Uber is concerned, no customer data was compromised during the hack, with the breach targeting invoice management tools and content from Slack channels.

In a new update about the fiasco, Uber believes the attack happened after the hacker purchased a corporate password on the dark web from a personal device that was infected with malware. Even though 2-factor authentication was activated, the contractor inexplicably allowed a login approval request, which granted entry to the account.

Since the data breach, the company has forced all users to change their login credentials and is adamant that any public-facing financial data or personal information remains secure.

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“First and foremost, we’ve not seen that the attacker accessed the production (i.e. public-facing) systems that power our apps; any user accounts; or the databases we use to store sensitive user information, like credit card numbers, user bank account info, or trip history. We also encrypt credit card information and personal health data, offering a further layer of protection,” says Uber in an official statement.

To add to the embarrassment, Uber admits that the hacker accessed the company’s dashboard portal at HackerOne, where researchers report security bugs and vulnerabilities. In addition to law enforcement, Uber is now working alongside leading digital forensics teams to get to the bottom of the breach.

The post Uber Blames Lapsus$ Hacking Collective For Data Breach appeared first on Tech Magazine.

“Unfortunately, due to the current economic environment in the country, we deeply regret that we’ve had to make the difficult decision to suspend our services in Lebanon starting from March 25, 2022” said the Careem team in the official statement.

Careem customers who have outstanding Careem credit or REWARDS points are encouraged to use them before March 25, 2022. If they don’t make the deadline, their remaining credit will be automatically refunded.

REWARDS points can be redeemed through the Careem app, by converting them to Emirates Skyward Miles or donating them to charity.

Careem was founded in 2012 as a service for corporate car bookings. The service gradually expanded to include personal ride-hailing and food delivery. In 2019, Careem was acquired by Uber for $3.1 billion, which made it the first unicorn startup company in the Middle East (not including Israeli unicorn startups).

Also Read: PayPal In Lebanon: Everything You Need To Know

During the first 10 months of 2021, Careem recorded 4.3 million rides, with 52 percent of its customers using the service to commute to work, and 46 percent using it for leisure trips.

It’s now clear that Careem’s success hasn’t been enough to offset the worsening economic situation in Lebanon. Since the start of the economic crisis, the Lebanese pound has lost more than 90 percent of its value, following a 58.1 percent contraction of Lebanon’s GDP between 2019 and 2021.

What’s more, the company has faced stiff competition from Bolt, which currently charges approximately the same as regular taxi drivers do for shorter trips. It’s tough to see yet another business leave Lebanon, but during times like this, there’s only one thing to say – yalla, bye!

The post Careem Is Officially Suspending Its Services In Lebanon appeared first on Tech Magazine.