Uber and Cruise join forces to deploy robotaxis next year

SAN FRANCISCO

Cruise's trouble-ridden robotaxis are joining Uber's ride-hailing service next year as part of a multiyear partnership bringing together two companies that once appeared poised to compete for passengers.

The alliance is the latest change in direction for Cruise since its California license to provide driverless rides was suspended in October 2023 after one of its robotaxis dragged a jaywalking pedestrian.

The incident spurred regulatory inquiries into Cruise and prompted its corporate parent General Motors to tamp down its once audacious ambitions in autonomous driving.

GM had envisioned Cruise generating $1 billion in annual revenue by 2025 as its robotaxis steadily expanded beyond San Francisco and into other cities to offer a driverless alternative to the ride-hailing services operated by Uber and Lyft.

But now GM and Cruise are looking to make money by mixing the robotaxis with Uber's human-driven cars. The financial details of the partnership weren't disclosed, nor were the cities in which Uber intends to offer Cruise's robotaxis next year.

Meanwhile, a robotaxi fleet operated by Google spinoff Waymo is expanding beyond San Francisco into cities around the Bay Area and Southern California. Earlier this week, Waymo announced its robotaxis are completing more than 100,000 paid rides per week.

Cruise is currently operating Chevy Bolts autonomously in Phoenix and Dallas, with humans sitting behind the wheel ready to take over if something goes wrong. The Uber deal underscores Cruise's determination to get back to the point where its robotaxis navigate the roads entirely on their own.