Uber app users in Austin can now get on an “interest list” for a chance to match with Waymo autonomous cabs, according to The New York Times. The rides aren’t available yet, but they’re coming to a 37 square miles area of the city in “early 2025” according to Bloomberg.
Uber once had self-driving ambitions of its own, but sold off its “Advanced Technologies Group” to Aurora in 2020. Since then, it has slowly deepened its relationship with Waymo. Driverless cabs became available through the app to customers in Phoenix starting in 2023, and driverless deliveries spun up there in early 2024. Waymo, on the other hand, has kept some markets — like San Francisco, where driverless rides can only be booked through the Waymo One app — tightly guarded. This makes it somewhat surprising to see Waymo partnering with Uber exclusively in Austin and Atlanta.
