Yango Tech Autonomy: Bringing Robots to Dubai's Doorsteps

Meet Nikita Gavrilov , Regional Head of Yango Tech Autonomy. Nikita has been in the mobility industry since 2018, building business development and platforms for last-mile delivery and enterprise quick-commerce companies. Today, he leads the autonomous delivery program in the Middle East.

In this edition of Yango Voices, we talk to Nikita about the operational realities of deploying delivery robots in Dubai's residential communities, the partnership with noon, and what it takes to turn autonomous delivery into a real, working service.

The Journey to Robots

Nikita was one of the first Yango employees in the UAE and led the launch of the delivery service there, reaching 1,000 orders within three months. He then spent two years in Turkey before launching Pakistan, which became one of the fastest-growing international markets by delivery volume. The move into autonomy grew out of his operational experience in delivery and marketplace scaling.

Proving the Case

In under a year, @Yango Tech Autonomy in the Middle East secured approval from Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority, launched a pilot with ROOTS in Sobha Hartland that delivered close to a thousand orders by robot, and logged over 1,300 km of fully autonomous travel with average delivery times of 7 to 14 minutes. With the operational case proven, Yango signed a deal with noon to deploy and scale autonomous delivery across the UAE.

"noon sees automation as a strategic target for the next two years. Not only in last-mile delivery, but across their whole operation."

Believe in What You Build

What keeps him going is the ability to influence the result directly. Nikita describes bringing potential partners to watch the robots in action: ordering from a phone and having a robot arrive ten minutes later.

“When people see how much you believe in what you’re building — how you present it, how engaged you are, how excited you are to see it working in real life — that energy becomes contagious. Even people who aren’t partners yet start saying, ‘This is really interesting — how can we be part of it?’”

Want More? 📝

This is just a glimpse into Nikita's journey. The full article on Yango Careers blog dives deeper into:

• What's next for Yango's delivery robots? Hint: it's closer to your front door than you think
• Nikita's approach to centralised agreements with Dubai's largest developers
• His advice for building careers in tech
• Why the human side still matters most

📬 Read the complete interview on our blog and explore monthly newsletters featuring Yango leaders from around the globe – follow us for exclusive insights!