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Waymo and Uber Team Up for Self-Driving Car Service in Phoenix
Waymo, the self-driving car pioneer, and Uber, the ride-hailing leader, have announced a partnership to transport passengers and deliver food in robotic cars in the Phoenix area. The move comes after a bitter technological dispute between the two companies that led to a $245 million settlement in 2018.
The partnership provides Waymo with another avenue to expand its robotaxi service, which has been running in the Phoenix area since late 2020. Phoenix is currently the only major metropolitan area where a robotaxi operates throughout most of the city, although Waymo and General Motors subsidiary Cruise are vying to run similar autonomous services in San Francisco.
Under the new alliance, Waymo will dispatch some of its driverless vehicles to pick up passengers and deliver food when summoned through the Uber app at some point later this year. The two companies did not disclose how many of Waymo’s robotaxis will be used to pick up Uber passengers and deliver food.
The addition of Waymo’s robotaxis is expected to help Uber build on the momentum it has gained during the past year as the easing pandemic encouraged more passengers to begin summoning rides again while its food delivery service has retained many of the customers who began using it during home lockdowns.
Supporting Uber’s services also works to the advantage of Waymo by introducing its autonomous vehicles to a wider segment of the population in the Phoenix area. Earlier this month, Waymo extended the reach of its robotaxis to cover most of that region as it gears up to begin charging passengers for a similar service in San Francisco.
Both Waymo and Cruise are hoping to win approval to begin charging for around-the-clock driverless rides throughout San Francisco from California regulators during a hearing scheduled for June 29.
The partnership between Waymo and Uber marks a significant shift in their relationship, which was once marked by a bitter legal battle over self-driving car technology. In 2017, Waymo sued Uber, alleging that former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick conspired with former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski to steal Waymo’s self-driving car technology.
The high-profile trial that followed brought Kalanick into court to testify before the two sides negotiated a surprise settlement in February 2018. Levandowski later pled guilty to criminal charges that arose from the civil lawsuit but avoided an 18-month prison sentence in January 2021 when he was pardoned by President Donald Trump just before he left office.
Uber subsequently sold the self-driving car division that triggered the theft allegations and also provided the technology in a robotic vehicle that killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona, in March 2018. However, Uber has remained interested in driverless technology as a potential way to boost its profits by reducing the need for humans behind the wheel.
The new alliance in Phoenix is expected to benefit both companies as they continue to compete in the rapidly evolving self-driving car market. With the addition of Waymo’s robotaxis, Uber will be able to offer a more advanced and efficient service to its customers, while Waymo will be able to introduce its autonomous vehicles to a wider audience.
As the self-driving car industry continues to grow, partnerships like this one are likely to become more common as companies seek to leverage each other’s strengths and expertise. With Waymo and Uber leading the way, it will be interesting to see what other alliances emerge in the coming years as the technology continues to evolve and mature.
Source: www.globalvillagespace.com
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