Shortly after announcing a strategic partnership with May Mobility to offer robotaxi rides to customers in the US, Uber has secured a second driverless tech company amid plans to scale the technology to new regions. Following a new partnership with Momenta, Uber will also expand robotaxi rides to Europe.
Uber ($UBER) has become a household name in rideshare technologies and has remained a trailblazer in integrating new technologies that make mobility cleaner, safer, and more convenient. One of the key forms of technology Uber has outsourced the past several years has pertained to autonomous driving.
It has signed several strategic partnerships with robotaxi and driverless delivery companies like Motional and Serve Robotics. In May 2023, Uber signed a multi-year agreement with US robotaxi specialist Waymo to offer its customers driverless rides and food deliveries through Uber Eats.
That partnership has expanded to several cities across the US, including Phoenix, and most recently, Austin, Texas. Last week, we learned that fellow self-driving vehicle developer May Mobility would join Uber’s fleet in Texas, following an inked strategic partnership that includes deploying thousands of vehicles on Uber’s platform over the next few years.
Following that news, Uber announced an additional partnership with China’s Momenta, to deploy even more Uber robotaxis around the globe, beginning in Europe.
Momenta and Uber to deploy robotaxi rides outside of China and the US
Uber shared details of its latest strategic partnership, which intends to introduce Momenta’s autonomous vehicles to the Uber platform in new international markets. Uber already has a growing presence of driverless vehicles in the US with the companies mentioned above, while Moments has made a name for itself in China with the help of funding from GM.
The new partners will combine Uber’s vast rideshare network with Momenta’s autonomous driving technology to “accelerate and deliver safe, scalable, and efficient Robotaxi services.” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi elaborated:
We are incredibly excited to announce this strategic partnership with Momenta. This collaboration brings together Uber’s global ridesharing expertise and Momenta’s AI-first autonomous driving technology, paving the way for a future where more riders around the world experience the benefits of reliable and affordable autonomous mobility.
Per Uber, the initial rollout of Momenta’s robotaxi technology will occur in Europe in early 2026. The companies stated that initial rides will have safety operators onboard before the service evolves into actual driverless rides around Europe. You can see Momenta’s robotaxi technology in action in China here.
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