Uber chief says partnership with Waymo remains solid despite recent doubts

In an earnings call, Uber chief Dara Khosrowshahi affirmed that the alliance with Waymo is "very strong" and will persist in both Atlanta and Austin, despite earlier termination of their joint effort in Phoenix. He highlighted Waymo’s importance while also pointing to Uber’s strategy of diversifying its autonomous-driving partners, naming firms such as Zoox, Wayve, Avride, Nuro, Motional and Waabi. The CEO did not address recent hints of tension, including a CTO’s tweet about a "scary Waymo moment" and the companies' opposite stances on a robotaxi legalization bill in Washington, DC.

Khosrowshahi stressed that Uber is not reliant on a single partner and plans to invest heavily in its robotaxi ambitions, though rides from such services currently account for under 0.5 percent of overall trips. He concluded that while Waymo leads the market, competition may emerge as the technology matures.