After as soon as being rivals, Uber and Waymo first partnered in late 2023. | Supply: Uber
Waymo robotaxis at the moment are obtainable in Austin solely by Uber. Waymo mentioned riders who request an UberX, Uber Inexperienced, Consolation, or Consolation Electrical could possibly be matched with a Waymo absolutely autonomous all-electric Jaguar I-PACE car.
Uber riders will have the ability to go for a human-driven car if they like. Each companies might be priced the identical, the businesses mentioned.
Beforehand, Waymo supplied rides in Austin solely to its staff. Waymo riders can presently journey throughout 37 sq. miles of Austin – from Hyde Park, to Downtown, to Montopolis – with plans to broaden sooner or later.
Not like Waymo’s deployments in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix, Waymo robotaxis in Austin can be found solely by the Uber app. In line with Uber, an analogous deal is within the works for Atlanta subsequent.
As soon as the Waymo arrives, riders can unlock the car, open the trunk, and begin the journey – all from the Uber app. If help is required at any time, Waymo mentioned riders could have entry to 24/7 buyer assist, accessible in each the Uber app and contained in the Waymo car.
Uber, Waymo go from rivals to companions
Whereas Uber and Waymo have been working collectively since 2023, issues haven’t at all times been clean crusing between the 2 firms. Again when Uber was nonetheless growing its personal AVs beneath its Uber ATG unit, the businesses have been concerned in a lawsuit.
In 2016, Uber acquired autonomous trucking startup Otto for $680 million. The corporate later fired Otto co-founder Anthony Levandowski, who helped construct Google’s first self-driving automotive, in 2017 after Waymo sued Uber for stealing commerce secrets and techniques. The 2 firms settled the lawsuit in February 2018 for $250 million in fairness. Two years after buying Otto, the corporate in July 2018 shut down the mission in an try and salvage its self-driving automotive efforts.
In March 2018, an Uber self-driving automotive struck and killed a girl in Tempe, Arizona. This in the end led to Uber promoting its ATG unit to Aurora.
Waymo units its sights on Atlanta, Miami
Waymo’s subsequent deployment metropolis might be Atlanta. In January, the corporate introduced its giving absolutely autonomous rides to its staff within the metropolis. This is step one in the direction of a public deployment firm has deliberate for later this yr with the assistance of Uber.
Waymo is a transparent chief within the robotaxi business. Presently, it gives over 200,000 journeys per week throughout Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Austin. The corporate can be planning to start testing its robotaxi service in Miami in 2025.
Final yr, the self-driving unit of Google’s guardian Alphabet launched its first service in Los Angeles and expanded companies in San Francisco and Phoenix. It additionally launched its sixth-generation robotaxi.
And that isn’t all. Along with the deployments and new car, Waymo closed a $5.6 billion funding spherical. The spherical was led by Alphabet and included participation from different massive buyers equivalent to Andreessen Horowitz, Constancy, Perry Creek, Silver Lake, Tiger International, and T. Rowe Value.
Whereas the corporate’s long-time rival, Cruise, is not in operation, Waymo nonetheless faces competitors from robotaxi firms like Zoox and Nuro, that are earlier of their deployment journeys. In 2024, Nuro expanded its capabilities utilizing zero-occupant automobiles with the Nuro Driver system, whereas Zoox grew its operations in California and Nevada. Throughout CES 2025, Mike Oitzman, senior editor at The Robotic Report, took a trip in a Zoox robotaxi.
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