(San Francisco) Uber has signed a contract with Waymo, the autonomous vehicle subsidiary of Google, to deploy this technology in the United States in Uber Freight, its freight transport network.
Posted yesterday at 2:42 p.m.
The goal of this “long-term strategic partnership” is to build the digital applications and infrastructure needed to deploy self-driving trucks in Uber Freight’s offering, Uber said in a statement on Tuesday, without specifying the amount of the fee. contract.
The ride-hailing (VTC) booking giant has invested heavily in its delivery services during the pandemic, ranging from meals with Uber Eats to goods with Uber Freight, which has more than 100,000 carriers.
The two companies “envision a future where self-driving trucks manage long hauls, relieving carriers of growing freight demand, while allowing drivers to switch to short-haul deliveries, which improve their quality of life,” the company said. Uber.
Waymo has designed and tested its Waymo Driver software over tens of millions of kilometers on its Waymo One robotaxis service and on Waymo Via, its local delivery service, in certain American regions, in Arizona and California in particular.
“In the future, carriers who buy trucks equipped with Waymo Driver will be able to integrate the Uber Freight platform without friction”, underlines the group in its press release.
Both companies believe that current economic circumstances – high fuel prices, labor shortages and rising demand – will accelerate the growth of these new modes of transportation.
At the end of 2020, in search of profitability, Uber had sold ATG, its division specializing in autonomous driving technologies, to Aurora, a start-up founded by a former engineer from Waymo, and supported by Amazon and Hyundai.
In July 2021, the San Francisco-based company bought the Transplace platform, which connects road users and businesses, for $2.25 billion.