Waymo confirms Uber will lose exclusivity in Austin and Atlanta
· BehindLines newsroom
Waymo will end Uber's exclusivity for its robotaxis in Austin and Atlanta in January 2028. According to TechCrunch, co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana confirmed it to Bloomberg News; the company will then offer rides through its own app, as it already does elsewhere.
The news is not entirely new: The Next Web reported on 25 July that Waymo had notified Uber of its intention, which an Uber spokesperson confirmed at the time. The current contract was due to run until May 2028, and according to The Next Web it keeps Waymo's current fleet on Uber's app at least until then. The Financial Times had earlier written that Waymo was considering leaving the partnership.
Ms Mawakana explains that Waymo partnered with Uber for its scale, but that the rider experience was "a little bit of a crapshoot", since passengers cannot tell whether they will get a robotaxi or a human-driven car. She adds: "It's important for us to have that relationship with the rider." Uber told TechCrunch it plans to keep hosting Waymo robotaxis for as long as the two companies agree, and told Bloomberg that Waymo declined to add an option to book a robotaxi directly in its app.
According to The Next Web, citing Bloomberg, Uber for its part cited unsustainable economics and recurring safety problems. Uber's shares fell more than 4% in July.
What remains unknown: whether the change extends beyond Austin and Atlanta, how exactly January 2028 relates to the May 2028 expiry, the pricing and rollout of Waymo's app, and which providers Uber might bring in.