Uber risks losing Waymo robotaxi partnership amid intensifying rivalry

Uber and Waymo, the Alphabet subsidiary that develops autonomous vehicles, began a robotaxi partnership in 2023 covering cities such as Phoenix, Austin and Atlanta. By early 2024 the collaboration has frayed, with Waymo reportedly considering ending the agreement and entering those markets on its own from January 2028.

Uber has poured more than $10 billion into robotaxi ventures this year, but its shares have fallen over 16% since the start of the year and slipped an additional 4% after the Waymo news. Waymo now operates about 3,800 driverless vehicles in ten U.S. cities and raised $16 billion at a $126 billion valuation in February to fund further expansion.

The dispute also involves competing lobbying efforts over robotaxi regulations, with both firms blaming each other for service quality and safety issues. The potential split threatens Uber’s strategy to rebuild its autonomous‑driving capability after selling its internal AV unit in 2020.