Southeast Asian Uber Technologies Inc. rival GrabTaxi Holdings Pte Ltd. has entered the self-driving car space with a new deal with nuTonomy that will see the two companies roll out self-driving taxis in Singapore.

NuTonomy first rolled out its driverless taxi trial in August, beating Uber’s rollout of a similar trial in Pittsburgh this month, but this new deal will allow the company to tap into Grab’s customer base to make real-world bookings.

Grab passengers will be able to book self-driving taxis in Singapore’s One-North district, and similar to the Uber trial each taxi will come with a support engineer and a driver who will take over the wheel if passengers wish to extend their journey to nearby neighborhoods or should the technology need assistance.

NuTonomy is aiming to have 100 autonomous taxis operating commercially in Singapore by 2018, but it’s not clear from reports how many vehicles are currently participating in the trial. The initial trial involves a fleet of Renault Zoe and Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric vehicles with customers not being charged for their rides, which will extend to Grab customers as well.

Despite Singapore’s fairly small size, Grab is pitching the test as a way to provide transit to residents of Singapore who lack many options. Data suggests that drivers in Singapore “are less likely to accept a passenger booking request originating from or destined for remote locations,” demonstrating a need for self-driving robotic cars.

The partnership between nuTonomy and Grab is “a step towards supplementing Singapore’s transport network with an innovative driverless commuting option for underserved areas of Singapore,” Grab Chief Executive Officer Anthony Tan said in a statement.

Battle on

While Grab is a minion to Uber’s global Goliath in the ride-hailing market, the deal nonetheless places Grab right at the front of the pack when it comes to a future of self-driving vehicles. Singapore is a perfect test bed for such a service as well due to its modernity and government support. Indeed, nuTonomy has already been named as a future technology partner by the Singaporean Government.

While Uber has its own support in the United States, this is now a battle between Asia and America and one that Asia, with its ongoing technical prowess, has a good chance of winning.

Image credit: Nutonomy