Uber partners with Wayve to offer self-driving rides

Uber has unveiled a partnership with autonomous vehicle firm Wayve as it continues to push into the self-driving market.

The San-Francisco based giant has already announced tie-ups with self-driving group’s Waymo and Cruise this year, as it looks to become the go-to ride-hailing platform for consumers seeking to experience self-driving cars.

“Uber and Wayve share a vision of reimagining mobility for the better,” Uber’s chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement.

“Wayve’s AI approach holds a ton of promise as we work towards a world where modern vehicles are shared, electric and autonomous.”

Details of where self-driving Ubers would be offered were not disclosed, although Wayve said its vehicles would be available on the Uber network “in multiple markets around the world.”

Uber has also agreed to make a “strategic investment” in Wayve as an extension of the company’s previously announced Series C fundraising round. The size of the investment has not been disclosed.

Founded in 2017, Wayve has emerged as a key developer of so-called ‘Embodied AI’ technology, which can learn and adapt based on human behaviour patterns.

Wayve boss ‘excited’ by team up

Founder and chief executive Alex Kendall said: “Wayve is building a ‘general purpose’ driving AI that can power all levels of driving automation in any type of vehicle, anywhere in the world.

“I’m excited to be teaming up with Uber, the largest mobility network in the world, to massively ramp up our AI’s fleet learning, ensuring our autonomous vehicle technology is safe and ready for global deployment across Uber’s network.”

The number of autonomous trips on Uber grew by six times year-on-year in its most recent quarter, via the 10 partnerships it had at the time.