Uber Spreads Its Self-Driving Bets

True to form, Uber is sharing the ride to the future of autonomous cars rather than driving itself there.

On Thursday, Uber announced it’s investing in Wayve, a UK-based startup that’s building self-driving software for cars. The investment marks a continuation in Uber’s new strategy to build out its self-driving future through tactical relationships, rather than making the fiddly technology itself.

Baby Driver

Uber has been keen to ride the autonomous driving wave, but it has a checkered past with the nascent (one could argue prenatal) technology. Uber sold its entire self-driving division in 2020, two years after a self-driving Uber vehicle fatally struck a woman.

More recently, however, Uber has eased itself back into the self-driving game through a growing network of strategic partnerships. It launched a robotaxi service in Las Vegas two years ago, and now it’s looking to expand that program:

• Last week, Uber announced it would partner with GM’s self-driving unit Cruise to bring the cars onto its platform next year.
• It also struck a deal with China-based EV company BYD in July, and BYD announced this week it will be partnering with Huawei to bring self-driving tech to its cars. Uber said when it partnered with BYD that it would “collaborate on future BYD autonomous-capable vehicles to be deployed on the Uber platform.”

Not Just a Carmaker Thing: Wayve is a startup that just focuses on self-driving software rather than an automaker, which suggests Uber is going for a granular approach to its dealmaking. The exact terms of the deal have not been publicly disclosed, but Wayve told TechCrunch in a statement that it “envisions future Wayve-powered self-driving vehicles being made available on Uber’s network.”