Wildberries Launches Test Ride-Hailing Service in Armenia
Russian retailer Wildberries & Russ has begun early testing of its WB Taxi ride-hailing service in Yerevan, aiming to challenge Yandex's regional dominance. Armenia is now the fourth country where the service is available.
Russian e-commerce company Wildberries & Russ (RWB) has begun early access testing of its new ride-hailing service, WB Taxi, in the Armenian capital of Yerevan, as it looks to challenge the regional dominance of tech giant Yandex.
Anatoly Smorgonsky, who heads RWB's transportation technology development, said in a statement published Tuesday that Armenia is already the fourth country where rides can be ordered through WB Taxi. In the initial rollout phase, testing invitations are limited to Wildberries employees and business partners in Yerevan. Regular users can join a waiting list, with access set to expand gradually over the coming weeks.
Expansion across the region
Since mid-2025, WB Taxi has already launched in Belarus, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. While the app is also available for download in Russia, reports indicate that RWB's development team is using the domestic release mainly to support and refine the platform rather than for commercial ride-hailing operations.
Earlier this year, RWB acquired three companies offering ride-hailing and delivery services as part of its push into Russia's highly concentrated transportation market. Russian media reported last year that the company was seeking to enter the sector as a direct challenge to Yandex, whose Yandex Go service holds a near-monopoly in Moscow's ride-hailing market and a dominant position in other major Russian cities.
RWB was formed in 2025 following the merger of e-commerce giant Wildberries with advertising firm Russ Group.
