Russian online retailer Wildberries & Russ (RWB) launched early access to its new ride-hailing service in the Armenian capital of Yerevan as it seeks to challenge the regional dominance of tech giant Yandex.

“Armenia is already the fourth country where you can order a ride through WB Taxi,” Anatoly Smorgonsky, who heads RWB’s transportation technology development, said in a statement published Tuesday.

In its initial rollout phase, testing invitations will be restricted to Wildberries employees and business partners in Yerevan. Regular users can join a waiting list, with access expanding gradually over the coming weeks.

Since mid-2025, WB Taxi has launched in Belarus, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. While the WB Taxi app is available for download in Russia, RWB’s development team is reportedly using the domestic release to support and improve the platform rather than for commercial ride-hailing.

Earlier this year, RWB acquired three companies that provide ride-hailing and delivery services as it tries to muscle its way into Russia’s highly concentrated market.

Russian media reported last year that the company was looking to break into the transportation sector in a direct challenge to tech giant Yandex, whose Yandex Go holds a virtual monopoly in Moscow’s ride-hailing market, as well as a dominant share in other major cities.

RWB was formed after e-commerce giant Wildberries merged with advertising firm Russ Group in 2025.

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