Ride-hailing stalwart Uber (UBER) is in focus this week, as robotaxi challenges from Waymo and others may cut into its future prospects. But Uber has its own autonomous vehicle (AV) ambitions, making the competitive landscape a crowded one that could ultimately benefit Uber.
On Friday, Uber said it would partner with robotaxi maker WeRide (WRD) to launch ride-hailing in Abu Dhabi. Uber said it would be the first time AVs are available on the Uber platform outside of the US and that Abu Dhabi would be the largest commercial robotaxi service outside the US and China when it launches in 2025.
Uber stock is slightly higher today on the news, but it slid 10% on Thursday when autonomous rideshare firm Waymo, backed by Alphabet (GOOGL), said it would expand its robotaxi service to Miami, Fla. Waymo has previously tested vehicles in Miami, the company said, a city that provided “challenging rainy conditions” for its driverless vehicles.
Waymo said it is already providing 150,000 trips per week in Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Austin.
Uber, which relies on human drivers for its ride-hailing, could possibly be threatened by the rise of robotaxi operators, which would have better margins since there would be no human drivers to pay.
Uber is no stranger to robotaxi initiatives. The company expanded a “multiyear strategic partnership” with Waymo, of all companies, to bring autonomous ride-hailing to Austin and Atlanta using the Uber platform. In addition to its partnership with WeRide in Abu Dhabi, Uber has strategic partnerships with GM’s Cruise, delivery company Coco, and AV tech firms Wayve and Avride.
AV and robotaxi tech development is an expensive and oftentimes challenging business. Uber itself sold off its autonomous unit to Aurora back in 2020 before striking partnerships recently with AV providers like Waymo and Cruise. In late 2022, Ford and Volkswagen pulled the plug on startup Argo AI, claiming AVs and robotaxis were too expensive and difficult to roll out to market, with both companies looking to focus on driver assistance technology instead.
While Uber stock took a hit on Thursday due to Waymo’s latest move to Miami, not all of Wall Street is convinced the Waymo threat is a death knell to Uber’s business.
“While the prospect of greater Waymo competition in 2026 is a sentiment overhang, Waymo operating independently in some cities is not new news,” BofA analyst John Murphy wrote in a note to investors on Friday.
What is most intriguing, Murphy wrote, is that Uber could be a “long-term beneficiary” of growing AV competitors.
