Key Points
- Waymo robotaxis will be available through Uber in Austin and Atlanta early next year, with wider availability on the Uber app expected in 2025.
- Uber will handle vehicle cleaning, repairs, and management while Waymo continues developing its autonomous driving technology.
- The collaboration follows a past legal battle between Uber and Waymo over trade secrets, showing significant progress in their partnership.
- Waymo robotaxis are already operational in Phoenix, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, providing over 100,000 weekly paid rides.
Waymo’s Jaguar I-PACE electric robotaxis are set to be available on the streets of Austin, Texas, and Atlanta, Georgia, through Uber’s platform early next year, the companies announced on Friday. Uber will handle the cleaning, maintenance, and general management of Waymo’s vehicles, while Waymo will continue to advance its autonomous driving technology. Although the exact number of Waymo robotaxis to be deployed in this partnership remains unspecified, Waymo has indicated that “hundreds” of its SUVs will eventually operate in both cities.
In the coming weeks, some users of the Waymo One app may gain early access to the robotaxis in Austin and Atlanta. Waymo revealed that it has already begun offering fully autonomous rides to its employees in Austin. Eventually, rides booked through the Waymo One app in Austin will transition to the Uber app. However, customers in Austin and Atlanta using only the Uber app will need to wait until 2025 to access the robotaxis.
The collaboration between Uber and Waymo marks a significant shift from their contentious past. In 2017, the two companies were embroiled in a legal dispute over trade secrets allegedly shared with Uber by a former Waymo employee. Since then, the companies have mended fences and began working together, initially integrating Waymo’s robotaxis into Uber’s app in Phoenix, Arizona, last year.
Earlier this year, Waymo’s vehicles started delivering Uber Eats orders in Phoenix, further expanding the scope of their partnership. Waymo’s autonomous Jaguar EVs are also operational in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Currently, Waymo robotaxis complete over 100,000 paid rides weekly across these three cities, with the upcoming expansions in Atlanta and Austin expected to increase these numbers significantly in 2025.
Uber’s latest collaboration with Waymo is part of its broader strategy to increase autonomous vehicle rides on its platform. Uber has also entered agreements to introduce GM’s Cruise robotaxis to its app next year and is working with Wayve, a company that develops AI-powered autonomous driving technology. As autonomous vehicle technology advances, robotaxis is poised to play an even larger role in urban transportation by 2025.
