Uber CEO brushes off reports of a Waymo break-up
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the relationship with Waymo remains “strong,” despite signs that the two companies may be drifting apart.
After Uber and Waymo ended their partnership in Phoenix earlier this year, experts and robotaxi watchers wondered whether the companies’ improbable bromance was fraying. Not so, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said today. The two companies are committed to continue working together in Atlanta and Austin, and the partnership remains “very strong.”
“Waymo is a very important partner of ours, and we continue to operate in Austin and Atlanta,” Khosrowshahi said in an earnings call today. “We believe we’ll continue to operate next year in those marketplaces. It’s a terrific product, and the on-the-ground partnership continues to be very strong.”
There’s been plenty of evidence that points to a weaker relationship than Khosrowshahi would like to admit, like Uber’s CTO tweeting about a “scary Waymo moment” and an Uber white paper that emphasizes a hybrid model of human- and robot-powered rides over an AV-only model. Last month, the two companies found each other on opposite sides of a bill in Washington, DC, that would legalize robotaxi services, with Waymo supportive and Uber pushing for a hybrid model.
Khosrowshahi didn’t address any of those incidents, but did note that Waymo isn’t Uber’s only robotaxi partner.
“We want to make sure that we’re not dependent on one partner,” he said on the call. “We’re absolutely seeing a plethora of newer players in the AV ecosystem, just like you see in the foundation model space. While we continue to provide a great service with Waymo in Austin and Atlanta, we’ll continue to build our services with our other players as well.”
Indeed, Uber has made a big to-do about linking up with a variety of AV partners, including Zoox, Wayve, Avride, Nuro, Motional, and Waabi.
