Phoenix – Uber Technologies Inc. has announced that it will offer self-driving cars on its ride-sharing and food delivery platform.
In a post on its official blog, Uber explained that the rides are possible through partnerships with Alphabet Inc’s Waymo.
Uber customers in a 112-square-mile area in Phoenix, Arizona will be able to access a select number of Waymon’s self-driving vehicles for rides and deliveries.
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Fully autonomous vehicles, especially robotic taxis, have been more difficult than expected with strict regulations, complex technology and huge investments forcing some to cut costs and even go out of business.
Uber’s expanding network will give Waymo, which also operates in San Francisco and wants to expand in Los Angeles, “an opportunity to reach more people,” said Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana.
Waymo X Uber c’est fait !
Les habitants de Phoenix pourront bientôt commander un Waymo depuis l’application Uber.
Peut être une extension dans d’autres villes américaines (voire mondiale) ?
— Horizon tomorrow (@horizontomorow) May 23, 2023
For Uber, this provides a boost to its long-standing self-driving ambitions as its ride-sharing service reaches pre-pandemic levels.
The deal also unites two bitter rivals. Uber and Waymo clashed bitterly in a public dispute over trade secrets in 2017, after Waymo filed a lawsuit alleging that one of its former engineers, who became head of the self-driving car business, took thousands of confidential documents with him.
Ultimately, the book agreed to pay Waymo $245 million in compensation and settled the case.
