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**September 14, 2024, 9:49 AM EDT**
**Source: CNBC**
Uber revealed on Friday that it will broaden its collaboration with Alphabet’s Waymo to provide robotaxi services in Austin, Texas, and Atlanta starting in early 2025. This announcement triggered a 5% rise in Uber’s stock, while Alphabet saw a 1% increase.
In these cities, Uber users may be paired with a driverless Waymo vehicle for select trips. These rides can only be booked via Uber’s app, contrasting with San Francisco and Los Angeles where bookings are made through Waymo’s app. A Waymo representative confirmed there are currently no plans to extend this partnership to San Francisco and Los Angeles.
This move comes as Uber faces growing pressure from investors to enhance its autonomous vehicle strategy, especially with Tesla’s robotaxi event scheduled for October 10 looming. Uber’s shares have dropped 9% since Tesla’s announcement and are down 17% from their 52-week highs.
Moreover, the partnership could slow Waymo’s penetration into Uber’s market. According to Bernstein’s analysis, Waymo’s 50,000 weekly paid rides accounted for roughly 2% of ride-share usage in San Francisco as of May 2024. Waymo has since doubled these rides to 100,000 per week.
“We’re excited to expand our successful partnership with Waymo, which has already enabled fully autonomous trips for tens of thousands of riders in Phoenix,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi stated.
Their initial agreement in Phoenix also included autonomous Uber Eats deliveries. Although the expansion to Austin and Atlanta won’t include Uber Eats initially, this is under consideration for the future according to the Waymo spokesperson.
Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana remarked, “We’re thrilled with the positive feedback from our Waymo One riders and are eager to bring the comfort, convenience, and safety of the Waymo Driver to these new cities in collaboration with Uber.”
This expansion marks another step in Uber’s efforts to make headway in the robotaxi sector, following difficulties and eventually selling off its self-driving division in 2020. Uber now leverages partnerships with Waymo, GM’s Cruise, and U.K. startup Wayve, backed by SoftBank.
Uber’s shares fell in August following the announcement of a multiyear partnership with Cruise to offer autonomous rides through its app next year. Wells Fargo analyst Ken Gawrelski pointed to Cruise’s previous safety issues contributing to investor skepticism, along with hopes that have now materialized for a partnership with Waymo.
Waymo has quickly advanced in the autonomous vehicle industry, offering its robotaxi services to the public in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. The company has recorded over 22 million miles traveled by June this year and recently published a report asserting that its vehicles are safer than human drivers. In August, it began driverless car tests on Bay Area freeways with Google employees.
While some analysts hoped for Uber and Waymo to expand into San Francisco, their presence in Atlanta and Austin, where Waymo has already begun testing, could still positively influence market sentiments.
**Jasmine Wu, CNBC**
Jasmine Wu contributes to CNBC.com.