Russian ecommerce giant Wildberries & Russ (RWB) has started testing its WB Taxi ride-hailing app in Yerevan, carrying its challenge to Yandex into Armenia.

A WB Taxi car in Yerevan carrying the greeting "Hello, Armenia" in Armenian.

Early access is limited for now to Wildberries employees and business partners in the Armenian capital, while other users can join a waiting list and will be let in gradually over the coming weeks, The Moscow Times reported on September 22.

"Armenia is already the fourth country where you can order a ride through WB Taxi," said Anatoly Smorgonsky, who heads RWB's transport technology development, in a statement on September 22.

RWB is building scale in former Soviet states while it tries to break into a Russian ride-hailing market where Yandex Go holds a virtual monopoly in Moscow and a dominant share in other big cities. WB Taxi has launched in Belarus, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan since mid-2025. In Russia the app can be downloaded, but the team reportedly uses the domestic version to test and improve the platform rather than to sell rides.

Earlier this year RWB bought three ride-hailing and delivery companies, extending an acquisition spree that has taken the group, formed from Wildberries' merger with outdoor advertising firm Russ Group, into airports, cosmetics, tourism, postal services and taxis.

In Yerevan the service offers Standard, Comfort and Multi fares, the last searching several car classes at once for a faster pickup, and new users get 1,500 welcome bonus points worth AMD1,500 ($4), Armenian news agency Arka reported. Drivers are being promised lower commissions than rival aggregators and regular payouts.

Wildberries already has a large footprint in Armenia, where the online marketplace ranked eighth among the country's biggest taxpayers in 2023 as trade with Russia surged.

Yandex (MOEX: YDEX) is pushing abroad too. Yandex Go launched in Istanbul in June, backed by a $100mn investment in its Turkish mobility business. In Kyrgyzstan, where Yandex Taxi leads and WB Taxi is a newer entrant, the government has teamed up with a Chinese company to launch a state-backed taxi aggregator that would compete with both Russian platforms.