Yandex to Conduct Autonomous Vehicle Testing in Israel

Yandex NV, the Russian multinational technology company that launched their taxi-hailing platform Yango in Israel earlier this month, announced Tuesday that the company has obtained permission from the Israeli Ministry of Transportation to conduct test drives of its autonomous vehicles in Tel Aviv.

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As required by Israeli safety regulations, a human driver will be behind the wheel during the tests. Yandex is already testing out its driverless cars in Russia and the U.S. Yandex is currently developing software and hardware that can turn almost any vehicle into a self-driving car, according to company statements. Yandex’ autonomous vehicles are already active on the streets of Moscow and drive passengers without a precaution driver in two Russian cities.

Yandex also launched its music streaming service Yandex Music in Israel in October.

Yandex is the second company to receive regulatory approval for autonomous vehicle testing on Israeli roads, after Intel subsidiary Mobileye. In May, one of Mobileye’s self-driving cars was filmed running a red light during a test drive in Jerusalem.