February 6, 2026 – During the World Government Summit (WGS) in Dubai, Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan had a first – hand experience of Baidu’s Apollo Go fully autonomous driving service.
He took a ride in an autonomous vehicle with the license plate number DUBAI 2026 on his way to the summit venue. After the ride, he posted on social media, expressing his admiration with the words “Hands off. Future on.”
At this year’s summit, Apollo Go was the only designated fleet for fully autonomous test rides, offering services to global political figures and industry leaders. This also marked the fulfillment of a promise made a year ago. In 2025, during the World Government Summit, the UAE’s Minister of Artificial Intelligence expressed the hope that Apollo Go would support all the vehicle fleets at the next year’s summit, and now this promise has become a reality.
In January of this year, Apollo Go obtained the first fully autonomous driving test license in Dubai, becoming the sole platform permitted to conduct fully autonomous tests in the local area.
On the same day, it launched its first overseas integrated autonomous driving operation base. This base combines functions such as operation, maintenance, and safety management. It is the first smart hub in the Middle East that supports the large – scale operation of fully autonomous vehicle fleets, providing technological and operational support for the services at this summit.
As of the end of October 2025, Apollo Go’s total global autonomous driving mileage had exceeded 240 million kilometers, covering 22 cities and having completed more than 17 million orders in total.
