{"id":3490387,"date":"2026-06-29T18:45:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T18:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/29\/waymo-and-uber-discreetly-separate-in-phoenix\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T18:45:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T18:45:12","slug":"waymo-and-uber-discreetly-separate-in-phoenix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/29\/waymo-and-uber-discreetly-separate-in-phoenix\/","title":{"rendered":"Waymo and Uber discreetly separate in Phoenix"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Waymo robotaxis are no longer accessible via Uber\u2019s ride-hailing app in Phoenix, Arizona, marking the conclusion of a nearly three-year collaboration in the city, confirmed by both companies to TechCrunch on Monday.<\/p>\n

Uber announced it is preparing to introduce a different autonomous vehicle collaboration in the city, though the partner was not disclosed. Waymo informed TechCrunch that the vehicles utilized by Uber for this \u201cpilot\u201d initiative have already been assimilated into its own fleet in Phoenix, accessible through its app.<\/p>\n

Recent days have seen Waymo users noticing the absence of the company\u2019s vehicles from Uber\u2019s platform. Conversely, Waymo\u2019s vehicles remain accessible on Uber in Austin and Atlanta. Uber stated to TechCrunch that the companies mutually agreed to conclude the deployment in Phoenix as it coincided with the contracted end date.<\/p>\n

This discreet termination of the partnership in Phoenix, which Waymo revealed occurred in May, happens as the Alphabet-owned firm begins to deploy its latest robotaxis \u2014 the Zeekr-manufactured van referred to as Ojai. Additionally, the Uber-Waymo relationship seems to be fraying in certain areas, with both companies on the verge of competing directly against each other in London as soon as this year.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, both firms commended their collaboration in Phoenix as a fruitful foundational step for their individual robotaxi aspirations, which have become increasingly ambitious since 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a fruitful pilot that laid the groundwork for future expansions and partnerships globally. After conducting hundreds of thousands of trips with Uber, we have re-integrated these vehicles back into our Phoenix fleet, where they will keep serving passengers through Waymo, including our public transit partnership with Via, and delivery via DoorDash,\u201d Waymo conveyed to TechCrunch. \u201cWe express our gratitude to all Uber customers who experienced fully autonomous rides with us, and we anticipate continuing to support the Phoenix community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPhoenix served as our initial pilot market with Waymo and featured a deliberately limited deployment, utilizing just over a dozen vehicles assigned to the program. We gleaned significant insights from that collaboration, which enabled us to rapidly expand in Austin and Atlanta, where hundreds of Waymo AVs are exclusively available on Uber and our coverage area is continuously growing,\u201d stated Uber.<\/p>\n

The robotaxi landscape has transformed substantially since these companies began their partnership in 2023. At the time of the initial announcement, the concept of an Uber and Waymo alliance appeared implausible due to their tumultuous legal dispute that concluded with a settlement in 2018. The robotaxi technology was in a much more precarious position, as no operator had yet achieved scale. Cruise was still considered a formidable competitor, having not yet experienced its scandal nor been assimilated into General Motors.<\/p>\n

In the three years that followed, Waymo expanded its fleet to approximately 4,000 vehicles, while Uber has secured agreements to enhance its network with multiple autonomous vehicle partners.<\/p>\n

This partnership in Phoenix remained unique, being the sole city where Waymo operated both directly and through Uber. Waymo is in the process of launching in around 20 new cities this year and is currently active in 11 major U.S. metropolitan areas, offering over 500,000 rides each week.<\/p>\n

This story has been revised with details from Uber regarding this being the contracted end date.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When you make a purchase through links in our articles, we might earn a small commission. This doesn\u2019t influence our editorial autonomy.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/div>\n
\n

Waymo robotaxis are no longer accessible via Uber\u2019s ride-hailing app in Phoenix, Arizona, marking the conclusion of a nearly three-year collaboration in the city, confirmed by both companies to TechCrunch on Monday.<\/p>\n

Uber announced it is preparing to introduce a different autonomous vehicle collaboration in the city, though the partner was not disclosed. Waymo informed TechCrunch that the vehicles utilized by Uber for this \u201cpilot\u201d initiative have already been assimilated into its own fleet in Phoenix, accessible through its app.<\/p>\n

Recent days have seen Waymo users noticing the absence of the company\u2019s vehicles from Uber\u2019s platform. Conversely, Waymo\u2019s vehicles remain accessible on Uber in Austin and Atlanta. Uber stated to TechCrunch that the companies mutually agreed to conclude the deployment in Phoenix as it coincided with the contracted end date.<\/p>\n

This discreet termination of the partnership in Phoenix, which Waymo revealed occurred in May, happens as the Alphabet-owned firm begins to deploy its latest robotaxis \u2014 the Zeekr-manufactured van referred to as Ojai. Additionally, the Uber-Waymo relationship seems to be fraying in certain areas, with both companies on the verge of competing directly against each other in London as soon as this year.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, both firms commended their collaboration in Phoenix as a fruitful foundational step for their individual robotaxi aspirations, which have become increasingly ambitious since 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a fruitful pilot that laid the groundwork for future expansions and partnerships globally. After conducting hundreds of thousands of trips with Uber, we have re-integrated these vehicles back into our Phoenix fleet, where they will keep serving passengers through Waymo, including our public transit partnership with Via, and delivery via DoorDash,\u201d Waymo conveyed to TechCrunch. \u201cWe express our gratitude to all Uber customers who experienced fully autonomous rides with us, and we anticipate continuing to support the Phoenix community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPhoenix served as our initial pilot market with Waymo and featured a deliberately limited deployment, utilizing just over a dozen vehicles assigned to the program. We gleaned significant insights from that collaboration, which enabled us to rapidly expand in Austin and Atlanta, where hundreds of Waymo AVs are exclusively available on Uber and our coverage area is continuously growing,\u201d stated Uber.<\/p>\n

The robotaxi landscape has transformed substantially since these companies began their partnership in 2023. At the time of the initial announcement, the concept of an Uber and Waymo alliance appeared implausible due to their tumultuous legal dispute that concluded with a settlement in 2018. The robotaxi technology was in a much more precarious position, as no operator had yet achieved scale. Cruise was still considered a formidable competitor, having not yet experienced its scandal nor been assimilated into General Motors.<\/p>\n

In the three years that followed, Waymo expanded its fleet to approximately 4,000 vehicles, while Uber has secured agreements to enhance its network with multiple autonomous vehicle partners.<\/p>\n

This partnership in Phoenix remained unique, being the sole city where Waymo operated both directly and through Uber. Waymo is in the process of launching in around 20 new cities this year and is currently active in 11 major U.S. metropolitan areas, offering over 500,000 rides each week.<\/p>\n

This story has been revised with details from Uber regarding this being the contracted end date.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When you make a purchase through links in our articles, we might earn a small commission. This doesn\u2019t influence our editorial autonomy.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3490388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3490387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3490387"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3490387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3490387\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3490388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3490387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3490387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3490387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}