Waymo and Uber Partnership Ends: Robotaxi Service Halted in Phoenix

Two giants of the autonomous driving technology market — Waymo and Uber — have decided to terminate their partnership in Phoenix, Arizona, which had been ongoing for nearly three years. According to TechCrunch, it is no longer possible to order Waymo robotaxis in the Phoenix area via the Uber app. This change comes at a time of intensifying competition in the sector. This is reported by Techcrunch.com report states.

Representatives of Waymo, part of Alphabet, describe this decision as the conclusion of a pilot project. It was reported that all autonomous vehicles previously operating on the Uber network have now been returned to Waymo's own fleet and will continue to serve customers exclusively through the brand's own app. Users in Phoenix had noticed the disappearance of robotaxis from the Uber platform in recent days.

Competition and New Strategies

Although the partnership has ended in Phoenix, both companies continue to work together in cities such as Austin and Atlanta. According to Uber representatives, the Phoenix project served as a testing ground, and the knowledge gained has helped expand scale in other regions. Interestingly, Uber announced that it will soon establish a partnership with another autonomous driving technology developer in Phoenix, though the name of the new partner remains secret for now.

Experts believe that the relationship between Waymo and Uber is becoming increasingly complex. The two companies are expected to emerge as direct competitors in London this year. While Waymo has begun deploying its new generation of robotaxis — Ojai vans produced by Zeekr — Uber is also working on attracting dozens of new autonomous partners to its network.

Waymo currently operates in 11 major US metropolitan areas and completes over 500,000 trips per week. The company plans to launch its services in another 20 new cities this year. The end of the partnership in Phoenix may be part of Waymo's strategy to independently develop its own ecosystem and reduce dependence on third-party platforms.

As a reminder, the history of relations between these two companies has been quite contentious. In 2018, they underwent a major legal battle over intellectual property theft, which ended in a settlement. The partnership that began in 2023 was an unexpected surprise for industry experts. Today, the robotaxi market is entering a new phase following the failures of competitors like Cruise, and Waymo is striving to maintain its clear leadership.