Uber chooses partners in self-driving race
Starting next year, some Uber users will be able to choose a Cruise robotaxi to ride with on their app, part of a multiyear partnership between Cruise and Uber.
General Motors’ self-driving subsidiary Cruise suspended all robotaxi services last year after a major incident in San Francisco where a vehicle ran over a pedestrian, and hasn’t restarted the service yet. But a spokesperson told TechCrunch that the Uber partnership will follow Cruise’s own relaunch.
This could be an indication of how ride-hailing companies plan to position themselves in the self-driving race. Instead of developing its own technologies, Uber is choosing to be a “demand aggregator,” Bank of America analysts wrote in a report. By leveraging riders’ demand for Uber, robotaxi operators also make sure that their cars get used more efficiently.
Last year, Uber started to partner with Waymo, and riders in Phoenix are already hailing Waymo robotaxis through Uber. It also plans to deploy autonomous BYD vehicles in international markets.
Uber had an expensive in-house pursuit of autonomous vehicles. In 2015, Uber opened its Advanced Technologies Group to develop driverless car technologies. But in 2018, one of Uber ATG’s autonomous testing vehicles, which had a human safety driver behind the wheel, struck and killed a pedestrian in Arizona. One year later, Uber shut down the ATG unit and later sold it to Aurora, a self-driving truck company.
In the five years of Uber ATG’s existence, the firm spent over $1 billion on the project.
This could be an indication of how ride-hailing companies plan to position themselves in the self-driving race. Instead of developing its own technologies, Uber is choosing to be a “demand aggregator,” Bank of America analysts wrote in a report. By leveraging riders’ demand for Uber, robotaxi operators also make sure that their cars get used more efficiently.
Last year, Uber started to partner with Waymo, and riders in Phoenix are already hailing Waymo robotaxis through Uber. It also plans to deploy autonomous BYD vehicles in international markets.
Uber had an expensive in-house pursuit of autonomous vehicles. In 2015, Uber opened its Advanced Technologies Group to develop driverless car technologies. But in 2018, one of Uber ATG’s autonomous testing vehicles, which had a human safety driver behind the wheel, struck and killed a pedestrian in Arizona. One year later, Uber shut down the ATG unit and later sold it to Aurora, a self-driving truck company.
In the five years of Uber ATG’s existence, the firm spent over $1 billion on the project.
