Uber launches massive robotaxi initiative and wants to become indispensable for developers

The ride-hailing and food delivery conglomerate Uber is making a massive push into robotaxis and autonomous vehicles. While the US company does not develop autonomous vehicles itself, it wants to offer a range of services for developer companies. According to TechCrunch, there is now a new division called Uber Autonomous Solutions, which is to take on all tasks related to operating robotaxis, self-driving trucks, or sidewalk delivery robots, including software and support services.

Uber has invested 100 million dollars in robotaxi charging stations

Uber has formed partnerships with nearly two dozen companies in the autonomous vehicle technology sector across all application areas. Many of these companies, such as Lucid, Nuro, Waabi, and Chinese company WeRide, have been supported by the conglomerate. In addition, the company has invested 100 million dollars in building fast-charging stations for autonomous vehicles. There is also now Uber AV Labs, a specialized engineering team that will collect data for robotaxi partners.

Uber’s goal is to become indispensable to the robotaxi industry. “Autonomous vehicle tech teams should be able to focus on what they do best: developing software that safely powers an autonomous world,” says Sarfraz Maredia, global head of autonomous mobility and delivery at Uber, who will lead the initiative. The company wants to help in areas such as demand generation, ride experience, customer support, and managing daily fleet operations.

Own push into autonomous vehicles failed

Robotaxi companies should be able to reduce their costs per kilometer and shorten time to market with the services. The company wants to help these partners expand robotaxi deployment to more than 15 cities by the end of this year. “What will determine the success or failure of autonomous driving in the world is whether it can be commercialized, and Uber will be the company that makes autonomous driving commercially profitable,” said Andrew MacDonald, president and COO of Uber.

Uber has previously attempted to develop autonomous vehicles itself. But in 2020, the company sold its internal development division. This came after two years of internal conflicts and pressure following one of its test vehicles killing a pedestrian. Since then, the company has wanted to strengthen its position in this area through partnerships and investments.