Waymo is parting ways with Uber in January 2028

An important change is coming to the Waymo Uber partnership. Because Waymo's co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana announced that the exclusivity agreement in Austin and Atlanta will end in January 2028. Mawakana told Bloomberg News. The statement was also included in a news article published on Wednesday.

Exclusivity, that is, a special agreement, means that the robotaxi service in these two cities operates through a specific partner. However, this period will close in January 2028. Therefore, the order will change for passengers in the two cities.

After this date, Waymo will offer robotaxi rides directly through its smartphone application in the two cities. The company is already using this method in other cities. Therefore, Austin and Atlanta will also switch to the same model.

Why Is the Waymo Uber Deal Changing?

According to Mawakana, Waymo initially signed on with Uber to provide scale. Because Uber had a large user base. But for the passengers, the experience was "a bit of a game of chance," as Mawakana puts it.

The reason for this is simple. Passengers could not know in advance whether they would receive a robotaxi or a vehicle with a driver when calling a vehicle in the application. That's why Mawakana stated that establishing a direct relationship with the passenger is important for the company. He also said that they received this feedback from passengers in the relevant cities.

The Financial Times also wrote earlier this year that Waymo wanted to exit the agreement with Uber. The agreement was to expire in May 2028. Accordingly, the new statement confirmed these claims.

What is Uber's stance?

Uber confirmed to TechCrunch that it wants to continue hosting Waymo robotaxis on its app. The company plans to do this as long as the two parties agree. Waymo, meanwhile, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Uber, which has many robotaxi and autonomous vehicle partners, also conveyed a different point to Bloomberg. Accordingly, it was Waymo's idea not to add a robotaxi option directly to the app. Therefore, the issue of passengers not knowing whether they choose to call a robotaxi may be a matter of debate between the two companies.

Moreover, the future of the Waymo-Uber relationship is not yet clear. The exclusivity will end in January 2028. Uber, on the other hand, wants to continue keeping Waymo vehicles on its app; Whether this continues depends on the decision made by the two companies.