Uber and Waymo run robotaxis together in three US cities. In London, they are about to face off.
Uber just opened a wait list for riders who want a self-driving ride. The partner behind it is not Waymo.
Uber's robotaxi partner in the UK is Wayve, a British self-driving startup. Riders can opt in through their app settings.
That opt-in raises the odds of getting matched with one. And it costs no more than a normal ride.
Don't want a driverless car? You can wave it off and wait for a human driver.
Uber showed off the car too. It is a black Ford Mustang Mach-E that runs Wayve's tech.
The screens inside handle 64 languages. Early rides will still keep a safety driver behind the wheel.
There is no launch date yet. Uber says it is coming in a few months, once UK rules allow it.
The firms turning self-driving cars into real businesses are worth a look. We cover moves like this each morning in Market Briefs, which comes with a free investing masterclass when you join.
Here is what makes this odd. Uber and Waymo are partners back home.
In Austin and Atlanta, you can only catch a Waymo through the Uber app. So the two share riders in the US.
But Waymo has been testing in London since April. It runs about 100 of its own self-driving Jaguars across the city.
The two first teamed up in Phoenix back in 2023. They have shared riders since, even as they drift apart in other ways.
So the same two firms are now lining up to compete. Their bond has looked shaky for a while.
Uber's tech chief even posted a clip that called a Waymo's driving "scary." That is not how you treat a partner.
Uber has spread its bets wide. It has backed more than a dozen self-driving firms, with Wayve as the biggest.
In February, Wayve raised $1.2 billion. Uber came back in as an investor.
That deal could grow to $1.5 billion. The extra $300 million is tied to putting robotaxis on the road in London.
Uber has also set up two new units for this push. One, called AV Labs, works on data.
The other, Uber Autonomous Solutions, runs the day-to-day. Both aim to grab share in a young, fast market.
Think of it like funding a rival's challenger in one city. Meanwhile, you still split the bill with that rival in another.
The showdown has one speed bump: rules. The UK is still writing its self-driving laws.
It opened a test program in May. The transport team plans to learn from that program first.
Whatever it learns will shape the final rules. Until then, both Uber and Waymo are stuck at the curb.
If you want the market explained like this each morning, sign up for Market Briefs. It takes five minutes a day and comes with a 45-minute investing course as a bonus.
