Self-Driving Ubers Coming Soon: Waymo Partnership Could Start This Year

Forbes Business Breaking Self-Driving Ubers Coming Soon: Waymo Partnership Could Start This Year Katherine Hamilton Forbes Staff I cover breaking news. Following May 23, 2023, 10:06am EDT | Press play to listen to this article! Got it! Updated May 23, 2023, 10:14am EDT Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Uber has signed a multi-year partnership with Waymo, the Alphabet-owned autonomous driving technology company, to begin offering self-driving vehicles possibly this year, starting in Phoenix, the companies announced Tuesday. Waymo’s self-driving vehicles will now be available through the Uber app in greater Phoenix.

Getty Images Key Facts The collaboration, which will launch publicly “later this year,” will provide a set number of Waymo’s vehicles to Uber’s ride-hailing and food delivery services in the Phoenix metropolitan area, where Waymo expanded its service area in early May to include Phoenix’s downtown and airport. Riders will still be able to hail Waymo vehicles directly from the Waymo One app, which launched in Phoenix in October 2020 and has since added services in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Uber users will be able to request a Waymo vehicle through the Uber app if one is available, Waymo told TechCrunch.

Tangent Waymo provides roughly 10,000 trips each week in Phoenix and San Francisco, and it has just added Los Angeles to its market, and intends to add Austin, as well. Uber services around 130 million people per month. Key Background Uber has made other forays into the self-driving business, and started its own autonomous vehicle endeavor, Uber ATG, in 2015.

The project turned out to be overly expensive, creating a net loss of $303 million during 2020, as well as a potential risk to the brand, after one of Uber’s self-driving vehicles fatally hit a pedestrian in 2018. Uber ended up selling Uber ATG to Aurora Innovation, a startup backed by Amazon and Sequoia Capital, for $4 billion, plus an additional $400 million that Uber invested in Aurora. But, Uber maintains self-driving vehicles are the future, with CEO Dara Khosrowshahi saying in a statement Tuesday that “fully autonomous driving is quickly becoming part of everyday life.

” Surprising Fact In February 2017, Waymo filed a lawsuit against Uber alleging the ridesharing company stole trade secrets. The claims were based around Anthony Levandowski, a former Waymo engineer who later founded self-driving truck company Ottomotto, which Uber acquired in 2016 for $625 million. Waymo argued Levandowski created Ottomotto using more than 14,000 confidential files stolen from Waymo.

The companies reached a settlement in 2018 with Uber agreeing to pay Waymo 0. 34% of its stock—about $245 million at the time. Levandowski was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay $179 million to Waymo’s parent company, but he ended up filing a suit against Uber claiming the company agreed to compensate him for any legal action brought against him when it bought Ottomotto.

Uber reached a settlement in 2022 to pay “a substantial portion” of the $179 million and give Levandowski $2 million. Further Reading Waymo doubles robotaxi service area in Phoenix in bid to grow driverless trips tenfold (TechCrunch) Uber Giving Waymo $245 Million Equity Payout To Settle Google Trade Secrets Case (Forbes) Waymo’s L. A.

Robotaxi Fleet Is Going Fully Driverless (Forbes) Send me a secure tip . Katherine Hamilton Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.