Uber Technologies said Friday that the Uber app will soon offer rides in Waymo's self-driving cars in Austin and Atlanta. Uber stock jumped on the news, which marks an expansion of the ride-hailing company's partnership with Waymo.
Starting early next year, riders in Austin and Atlanta can hail an autonomous Waymo Jaguar vehicle from within Uber, according to a company announcement. Waymo, which is owned by Google parent company Alphabet, has a similar partnership with Uber in Phoenix.
Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said in a news release that Uber's partnership with Waymo has powered trips for "tens of thousands" of riders in the Arizona city since it launched last October.
"Soon, riders in Austin and Atlanta will be able to experience that same mobility magic, through a new fleet of dedicated autonomous Waymo vehicles, available only on Uber," Khosrowshahi said.
On the stock market today, Uber stock added 6.5% to close at 72.48. Shares retook their 21-day line following a downtrend that began late last week.
Uber Adding Autonomous Partners
The Waymo deal is among several new partnerships from Uber focused on autonomous vehicles. Uber once invested significantly in building its own autonomous vehicles. But its strategy has shifted to instead partnering with self-driving car developers.
Uber last month announced a partnership with the General Motors-backed Cruise that will allow Uber riders to hail AVs in undisclosed markets starting next year. The ride-hailer also recently announced a strategic partnership with the startup Wayve, which makes AI-powered software for autonomous vehicles.
The expanded Waymo-Uber partnership comes weeks before Tesla is expected to host an event further detailing its plans for a robotaxi service. Elon Musk's vision to launch a robotaxi service with self-driving Tesla cars has hung over Uber's stock for much of the year.
Even with the service likely far from launching, some investors fear that Tesla could offer a new and formidable competitor to Uber and Lyft over the long term.
Uber has stressed to investors that its app will be a vital part of the self-driving ecosystem. Khosrowshahi told a Goldman Sachs investor conference earlier this week that Uber's ability to forecast demand and put self-driving cars to work will be especially important, given the high cost of AV development.
"With the volumes and the higher utilization that we can drive through the marketplace versus stand-alone, we think they can earn their capital back both on investment and earn a return on capital on the vehicles that they have," Khosrowshahi said, according to a FactSet transcript. "And we're seeing it live right now in the marketplace. "
Under the expanded deal, Uber will manage and dispatch a fleet of Waymo vehicles in both cities. The news release said the number of Waymo vehicles in the fleet will "grow to hundreds over time."
Uber Stock In Consolidation Pattern
Meanwhile, Uber stock has formed a consolidation pattern with a buy point of 82.14, according to MarketSurge pattern recognition.
With Friday's early gain, Uber stock is ahead 17% year to date. That is just behind a 17.8% gain for the S&P 500. Last year, Uber shares surged nearly 150%.
