Uber CEO brushes off reports of a Waymo break-up

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. Basically, if you’re a startup with some autonomous driving experience and a few vehicles in the field, chances are you’ve received a call from Uber. The company has said it plans on spending upwards of $10 billion to build out its robotaxi business over time.

But Waymo is really the only one doing it at scale. And since the company has shown it can work in markets both with and without Uber’s imprimatur, it really seems like Uber needs Waymo more than vice versa.

But while Khosrowshahi doesn’t sound ready to break up with Waymo any time soon, he also wasn’t willing to concede that robot-driven cars would quickly become the norm. In fact, Khosrowshahi’s next move was to downplay the significance of robotaxi rides on the company’s platform, noting that they only account for “less than 0.5 percent of our overall trip volume.” Physical AI — which is industry lingo for real-world AI like robots and driverless cars — is moving at a slower pace than large-language models like ChatGPT. And in time, a Waymo competitor may emerge to challenge the Alphabet-owned company’s dominance.

“We have time to develop the partnerships with our other set of partners to create a competitive playing field with attractive commercials,” Khosrowshahi added.

Khosrowshahi’s reticence is understandable. Uber and Waymo may be partners in a couple of markets, but the companies are mostly competitors. And early data suggests that Waymo is taking away market share from traditional rideshare players like Uber and Lyft. The two companies may still need each other now, while robotaxis are in their infancy, but the future is more of an open question.