Uber Technologies Inc.'s logistics division Uber Freight thinks we're at the precipice of a sea change in logistics. And it starts with artificial intelligence.
On Thursday at Deliver, Uber Freight's annual customer conference, the Uber (NYSE: UBER) division unveiled its next generation of products that includes new logistics software, generative AI and data-enabled insights tools as it looks to move to an "AI-first" approach.
The news comes after a combination of research and development and significant investment by the company, totaling $120 million since Uber Freight acquired Transplace for $2.25 billion, as it looks to continue to make new investments in new technologies designed to power the movement of goods.
New tools include Insights AI, a generative-AI-powered tool that will make decision-making in logistics easier, and Uber Freight Exchange, a new tool designed for shippers and carriers, among others.
"We are completely rethinking the entire company as an AI-first approach and we are fully integrating AI into every facet of the company and in every facet of our operation," said Lior Ron, founder and CEO of Uber Freight, during a press conference on Thursday.
Nearshoring activities — a strategy in which a company moves its production closer to the final consumer — is also on the rise for Uber Freight, according to Ron.
"We saw a 20% to 25% increase in production with our shipper base over the last 12 months of companies' production in Mexico and cross-border shipments," he said. "Laredo [Texas] has become the largest single entry point into the U.S. and there's tons of activity going in and out of Mexico, and we want to offer shippers the most comprehensive set of solutions in the industry for cross border logistics."
Uber Freight now has $18 billion in annual freight under management, 2 million drivers registered since its founding and 100,000 miles of autonomous loads completed on its network.
Changing logistics using AI
Ron said that over the last 12 months, the company has engaged in "a full transformation" to fully integrate AI technologies, providing a chatbot or copilot for its operators and customers that can give them better recommendations and better estimated time of arrival for the trucks.
AI is also helping Uber Freight service agents and engineers do their jobs more efficiently.
"We've seen a 30% increase in productivity from our engineering team," Ron said. "We've also deployed AI-first driving solutions on the Uber Freight network."
Earlier this month, Uber Freight announced a partnership with autonomous trucking startup Waabi to accelerate its plans to bring AI-powered autonomous trucks at scale.
"We've done over 100,000 autonomous miles on the Uber Freight network, which is now the most comprehensive autonomous network globally," Ron said.
Ron will continue experimenting with the technology that he thinks could be commercialized in the "next few years" based on AI.
"It represents a sea change for the industry," he said. "But for us, the most exciting use of AI in logistics is going to be using AI to actually improve logistics decisions and provide those AI tools and language models for the customers themselves."
