Mobility giant Uber Technologies Inc. will deploy autonomous vehicles equipped with tech from Boston-based Motional on Uber's ride-hailing and goods delivery platform, with autonomous rides set to begin before the end of the year.
Uber's (NYSE: UBER) tapping of Motional to be the first company for such an inaugural partnership is also notable because of who it didn't pick: Pittsburgh-based Aurora Innovation Inc., which acquired Uber's Pittsburgh-based self-driving unit, Uber ATG, and its 1,200 workers back in January 2021 in a deal that was reportedly valued at about $4 billion. Uber also invested $400 million into Aurora (NASDAQ: AUR) for further development of autonomous vehicles (AV) as a result of the deal. Additionally, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has a seat on Aurora's board, yet another tie between the two companies.
The 10-year "framework agreement" spanning multiple markets between Uber and Motional isn't an exclusive one nor is it the first ride-hailing-related collaboration between two different firms, however. It's not even the first AV-related partnership for Uber, which did pick Aurora in December 2021 for the testing of autonomous trucking on the Uber Freight platform. Uber has also partnered with Motional before for autonomous goods delivery testing in California.
Pittsburgh's own Argo AI LLC has worked with Lyft Inc., another ride-hailing platform, for over a year for the testing of AVs on a ride-hailing platform and just a few weeks ago expanded such an option to consumers in Austin, Texas, after previously offering autonomous rides to customers in Miami. Similarly, Motional has also teamed up with Lyft to do the same for consumers in Las Vegas.
But the partnership is the first to see a mobility company like Uber team up with an AV company like Motional for both autonomous rides for consumers and for autonomous goods delivery via AVs. Details are scant, however, as neither company shared specifics on the cities that would see these offerings first, how many vehicles will be available for such service and when such offerings would begin other than noting that the first autonomous trips are "expected to start later this year."
"We’re excited to leverage the power of Uber’s platform to bring Motional’s advanced autonomous technology to a wide range of riders at the push of a button," Noah Zych, global head of autonomous mobility and delivery at Uber, said in a prepared statement. "The scope of this partnership shows the important role that shared autonomous vehicles will play in the future of transportation, and in Uber’s strategy to be the global platform to help you go anywhere and get anything."
In an email statement to Pittsburgh Inno, an Aurora spokesperson reaffirmed that Aurora and Uber continue to work together on AV-related developments. Aurora plans to ship its autonomous trucking product in early 2024 with its autonomous ride-hailing and goods delivery product to come shortly after.
"We continue to have a unique, valuable, and close relationship with Uber, including through our regular autonomous commercial freight hauls with Uber Freight and our planned deployment of self-driving passenger vehicles on their ridesharing network," the Aurora spokesperson said.
According to a July 2022 Pittsburgh Business Times list of the region's largest robotics and AI companies, Motional maintains an employee count of about 400 workers in Pittsburgh, one of its major testing cities. The company employs about 1,100 workers globally.
