Russia’s tech giant Yandex announced today the launch of Yandex Go, Europe’s first SuperApp to combine all key aspects of on-demand transportation and delivery.
While SuperApps, such as Grab, Rappi and Go-jek, may be common in Asia and South America, they are new to the United States and Europe. Russia is ahead of the curve with Tinkoff, the country’s largest digital bank, having launched its financial and lifestyle services SuperApp in December of last year.
Yandex Go will replace the Yandex.Taxi app and add on Yandex’s car-sharing service Yandex.Drive. The new app will also integrate schedules and routes of above-ground transport that were previously available in the Yandex.Transport app. The first steps toward making the new SuperApp were taken in March of this year, when the Yandex.Taxi app incorporated Yandex.Eats food delivery service and Yandex.Lavka express convenience store delivery business
“Yandex Go will enable people to solve any task that involves moving around the city quickly and on time. Our taxis arrive in less than five minutes, package or documents delivery takes 20 minutes on average, groceries get delivered within 15 minutes and restaurant and cafe meals within 30. We leverage our technology and unite our existing Yandex platforms within a single SuperApp to simplify everyday tasks, making multi-tasking easy for everyone,” said Daniil Shuleyko, CEO of the Yandex.Taxi group of companies.
The new SuperApp will allow users to hop in a taxi, use car-sharing, make trips with a personal driver, or take advantage of routes and schedules of above-ground transportation. It will also offer quick delivery of restaurant meals and groceries, as well as packages and cargo delivery.
Yandex Go has grown out of the Yandex.Taxi app, the on-demand ride-hailing service which has been profitable since 2018. Yandex’s technology and ecosystem of different platforms have allowed the company to wrap multiple services into one.
Yandex Go will be available in Russia and with limited functionality in some European and Central Asian countries starting today. It will be available in Google Play and in the Appstore.