Robotaxi Alliance Frays as Google's Waymo Considers Ending Partnership with Uber

Waymo, Google's autonomous ride-hailing company, is considering ending its partnership with Uber due to a deteriorating relationship between the two firms. The companies have reportedly clashed over operational and commercial issues, and Waymo has internally discussed terminating the collaboration that was first announced in 2023.

The partnership has faced increasing friction in recent years. Waymo has raised concerns about the cleanliness of its vehicles operating on the Uber platform, as well as Uber's route planning. Meanwhile, Uber has criticized Waymo vehicles for becoming unavailable during severe weather conditions and has argued that the financial terms of the partnership are unsustainable. The two companies are also pursuing increasingly different long-term business strategies.

Waymo has informed Uber that it plans to enter the relevant markets independently after the partnership agreement allows it to do so in January 2028. The companies had already ended their autonomous ride-hailing collaboration in Phoenix, Arizona, at the end of June. Phoenix was the first city where Waymo launched commercial Robotaxi services through its own ride-hailing app in 2020.

In 2023, Waymo and Uber signed a multi-year partnership agreement, with Waymo Robotaxis later becoming available through the Uber app. Under the partnership, Waymo vehicles were used not only for Robotaxi passenger services but also for on-demand food delivery.

At the time, an Uber spokesperson stated that the Phoenix project was intentionally designed as a limited-scale pilot involving just over a dozen dedicated vehicles. Uber also said it planned to launch a new autonomous vehicle project in Phoenix with another self-driving technology provider but did not disclose further details.

According to Waymo, the Phoenix Robotaxi partnership concluded in May after the companies completed hundreds of thousands of rides together. Their food delivery collaboration had already ended in May 2025. Waymo said the vehicles would be reintegrated into its own fleet to support its delivery partnership with Uber rival DoorDash, as well as its public transportation collaboration with Via Transportation, which began last year. Customers in Phoenix can still book rides directly through the Waymo app. A Waymo spokesperson described the Phoenix partnership with Uber as a successful pilot that laid the foundation for future global expansion and collaboration.

Although Waymo and Uber expanded their partnership to Austin and Atlanta in 2025, growing both fleet size and operations in those cities, they have not announced plans to extend the collaboration to additional markets. Meanwhile, Waymo has expanded into Nashville, Miami, and other cities across Texas, working with different fleet management partners while competing directly with Uber for riders.

Market Insight:

The latest developments have heightened concerns among industry observers. Some analysts believe that if Robotaxis become widely adopted and operators such as Waymo and Tesla choose not to integrate their fleets with Uber's platform, Uber's long-term growth prospects could face significant challenges. Waymo currently operates more than 3,000 autonomous vehicles across over 10 cities in the United States.