Uber announces new robotaxi partnerships
In the USA, Uber wants to cooperate with May Mobility, whose investors include BMW and Toyota. The startup, which is still unknown in this country, is a technology company with its own software and hardware for autonomous driving. May Mobility has already equipped 40 vehicles of the Sienna hybrid minivan developed by Toyota for the US market with this technology and is active in several cities. It is one of only three companies offering driverless driving services in the USA – the others are the long-established Google sister company Waymo and the Amazon subsidiary Zoox, which is currently rolling out its service.
Uber and May Mobility have announced a new multi-year strategic partnership, with May Mobility setting itself the goal of bringing thousands of autonomous vehicles onto the Uber platform over the next few years. The launch is scheduled to take place in Arlington, Texas, by the end of 2025.
As part of the agreement, Uber wants to offer its customers the option of using a May Mobility robotaxi on the Uber platform for suitable journeys. May Mobility will use the model that the company has been using for some time, namely, the specially equipped Toyota Sienna from US production. The first deployment will be with safety personnel on board before switching to driverless driving. Following the launch in Arlington, Uber and May Mobility plan to expand to other markets in the US by 2026.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with May Mobility to continue to scale the availability of autonomous vehicles across the United States,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber. “At Uber, we’re building the future of transportation, working with the world’s leading autonomous vehicle developers like May Mobility to help commercialize and deploy this technology quickly at scale around the world.”
May Mobility’s platform applies real-time human-like thinking to handle unexpected situations with AI-powered speed and precision, enabling it to navigate real-world situations without relying on pre-defined scenarios, the company said.
“Launching on the Uber platform is a big signal to the market that May Mobility is ready to quickly expand to major markets as the pre-eminent autonomy-as-a-service provider,” said Edwin Olson, CEO and co-founder of May Mobility. “Uber and May Mobility will make it possible for more people across the U.S. to enjoy the transformative benefits of autonomous vehicles.”
In the USA, Uber is already cooperating with Google’s sister company Waymo – autonomous vehicles can already be booked via the Uber app in Phoenix and Austin and will also be available in Atlanta in the future. Uber and Volkswagen also just announced that a robotaxi version of the ID. Buzz can also be booked via Uber. In other words, Uber is staying true to its platform approach and wants to arrange robotaxi journeys from various providers.
Cooperation with Momenta starts in Europe
Uber has also announced a new partnership with the Chinese startup Momenta. The two companies plan to work together to introduce autonomous vehicles on the Uber platform in international markets outside the US and China, initially in Europe from early 2026 and initially with safety personnel on board.
“Having already established strong partnerships with the most innovative compute platform providers, and globally leading OEMs, expanding our network to Uber as the preeminent mobility platform now completes the key ecosystem needed to scale autonomous driving globally. This cooperation marks an exciting milestone as we bring our Robotaxi technology, efficiently integrated on a mass-production vehicle platform, to new international markets,” said Xudong Cao, CEO of Momenta.
“We are incredibly excited to announce this strategic partnership with Momenta. This collaboration brings together Uber’s global ridesharing expertise and Momenta’s AI-first autonomous driving technology, paving the way for a future where more riders around the world experience the benefits of reliable and affordable autonomous mobility,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber.
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