Uber is adding a robotaxis to its fleet of vehicles in Phoenix later this year, thanks to a partnership with rival Waymo, the companies announced.
An undisclosed number of Waymo autonomous-driving vehicles will be available to hail for rides and book food delivery on the Uber app. The partnership is expected to span multiple years.
Alphabet-owned Waymo (formerly known as the Google self-driving car project) recently doubled its service area to span 180 square miles in the Phoenix area. Users will still be able to hail a Waymo vehicle through the company’s own Waymo One app.
The two companies were once bitter rivals in the field of autonomous car development, culminating in 2017 when Waymo sued Uber’s self-driving car subsidiary Otto over alleged trade secret theft and patent infringement.
The case did go to trial, but the parties came to a surprise settlement. Uber ultimately admitted to misappropriating Waymo technology and pledged to license it in the future.
Robotaxis have been the subject of controversy — one of Uber’s own autonomous vehicles killed a woman in 2018 in Tempe, Arizona, coincidentally not far from Phoenix. That led to Uber shutting down its autonomous vehicle program.
The industry has struggled since the pandemic began, including Waymo, which had a partnership with Lyft that ended in 2020.
Waymo also isn’t alone in the space. Uber is also partnered with Motional, a joint venture between Hyundai and Aptiv, to make robotaxis available to users in Las Vegas.
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
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