Uber, which exited self-driving in 2020, is now at the center of the robotaxi era
Uber, which plans to launch a robotaxi service with Wayve and Nissan in Tokyo this year, has deals with every major AV player.
Today, Uber announced a partnership with Nissan and autonomous tech startup Wayve to launch a robotaxi service in Tokyo later this year, as part of a plan to expand autonomous services to 10 markets globally. Yesterday, the ride-hailing platform said Amazon-owned Zoox would deploy robotaxis on the Uber app in Las Vegas this summer and Los Angeles next year.
With more than 20 autonomous vehicle partnerships — spanning nearly every major player, including Baidu, Alphabet’s Waymo, and WeRide — Uber, which sold off its own self-driving unit in 2020, now finds itself in the unlikely position of being a driving force in the dawning robotaxi era.
“They are uniquely well positioned to benefit from AVs,” Jefferies analysts wrote in a note Wednesday, explaining that Uber has created an “ecosystem that provides broad-based geographic coverage and reduces reliance on any single provider.”
On the company’s most recent earnings call, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi emphasized Uber’s hybrid approach, combining human drivers and autonomous vehicles across multiple partners and markets, as part of what he called the company’s “multi-trillion-dollar opportunity.” The strategy allows Uber to tap into the growth of robotaxis without bearing the steep costs of developing its own technology.
With Uber shares back near last year’s lows on robotaxi fears, Jefferies is heartened by the company’s diversified partnership approach to AVs and sees a buying opportunity.
