Uber CEO Says Waymo Partnership Remains Solid Despite Fracturing Signs

Uber's chief executive pushed back on speculation that the company's autonomous vehicle partnership with Waymo is deteriorating, insisting their working relationship across Atlanta and Austin remains intact and robust.

During an earnings presentation, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi characterized Waymo as "a very important partner" and stated the companies expect to continue operating together in both markets throughout the coming year. He emphasized that the collaboration's foundation "continues to be very strong" and described Waymo's autonomous product as "terrific."

Cracks in the Partnership#

Yet multiple recent developments suggest the alliance may be strained. Uber's Chief Technology Officer posted on social media about a "scary Waymo moment," while the ride-hailing company released a research paper advocating for a blended model combining both human drivers and robots—a stance diverging from Waymo's fully autonomous approach. Further tension surfaced last month when the two companies took opposing positions on a Washington, DC robotaxi legalization bill, with Waymo supporting broader autonomy and Uber favoring regulations that preserve a hybrid system.

Khosrowshahi did not directly address any of these incidents during his remarks.

Hedging Bets Across Multiple Vendors#

The Uber executive indicated the company is intentionally cultivating relationships with numerous autonomous driving firms to avoid over-reliance on a single partner. He noted that Uber is in discussions with startups including Zoox, Wayve, Avride, Nuro, Motional, and Waabi—a sprawling network reflecting how the autonomous vehicle space mirrors the diversity seen in foundation model development.

"We want to make sure that we're not dependent on one partner," Khosrowshahi said on the call.

Uber has committed over $10 billion toward robotaxi expansion, though the company acknowledged that self-driving rides currently comprise less than 0.5 percent of all trips on its platform. Despite this minimal footprint, the executive suggested that emerging competitors may eventually challenge Waymo's current lead, predicting that "physical AI" technologies like driverless cars are advancing more slowly than language models such as ChatGPT.

The Competitive Reality#

Though officially partners in two cities, Uber and Waymo remain fundamentally competitors in the broader robotaxi market. Data indicates Waymo is already like Lyft. While both companies may need each other during this nascent phase of autonomous ride-hailing, their long-term trajectories remain uncertain.