uber to shift to autonomous taxis as wayve and cruise’s self-driving AI cars join its platform

Uber to deploy Wayve and cruise’s autonomous taxis

In a span of one week, Uber has announced its collaboration with autonomous vehicle companies Wayve and Cruise as it steps towards using self-driving AI cars for its platform. The transportation company has invested in Wayve, a UK-based developer of Embodied AI technology for automated driving. The startup says that Uber’s support can speed up their efforts to add more advanced self-driving features to regular cars, which include Level 2+ advanced driver assistance and Level 3 automated driving.

The former level can allow for minimal driving tasks with the driver’s supervision. The latter lets the car handle the ride, with the driver ready to back it up in case it needs a hand. With the funding, Wayve is working on developing Level 4 autonomous vehicles, the stage where cars can drive themselves in most situations without any help from a human driver. The goal is to make these fully self-driving AI cars available on Uber so people can ride in them without needing a driver. At the moment, there’s no specific timeline on when they’ll become available on the platform.

all images courtesy of Wayve, unless stated otherwise

Self-driving AI cars across uber’s ‘key global markets’

While the date of Wayve’s autonomous taxis on Uber is still up in the air, Cruise’s self-driving AI cars could show up on the platform as soon as 2025. The two companies have only announced their collaboration and plan to officially launch their partnership in the same year, coinciding with the release of a number of Chevy Bolt-based autonomous taxis for public use. After the launch, users may choose the option to have a Cruise self-driving AI car pick them up and drive them to their destination. At the moment, Uber, Cruise, and Wayve have yet to identify the cities or countries they’re planning to deploy their autonomous taxis in.

Aside from Wayve and Cruise, Uber also has its eyes on putting future autonomous-capable cars from automotive company BYD on its platform, following the announcement of their partnership in July 2024. The multi-year collaboration expects Uber to bring over 100,000 new BYD electric vehicles onto its platform, with a number of these cars capable of driving themselves. Uber’s 2024 second-quarter report states that these BYD electric vehicles are expected to be deployed ‘across key global markets.’ These cities and countries may be the first ones to use Wayve and Cruise’s self-driving AI cars as well.

Uber has invested in Wayve, a UK-based developer of Embodied AI technology for automated driving