Waymo to Exit Uber Partnership, Launch Standalone Robotaxi App in 2028
The Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle company will end its Uber integration in Austin and Atlanta, following a quiet split in Phoenix earlier this year.
Waymo is ending its partnership with Uber and will launch its own standalone robotaxi app in Austin and Atlanta starting January 2028—seven months before the current agreement expires in May 2028. The move marks a decisive shift in the robotaxi industry as the Alphabet-owned company builds its own direct-to-consumer network rather than relying on third-party platforms.
Uber confirmed to TechCrunch that Waymo has informed the ride-hailing giant of its intent to offer robotaxis through its own app in both markets. The contract covering Waymo's operations in Austin and Atlanta expires in May 2028.
The split follows a quiet dissolution of the companies' Phoenix partnership in May 2026, which both firms confirmed had reached its contracted end date. Phoenix was the original testing ground for the Waymo-Uber collaboration, making the complete unwind significant for an alliance that once appeared central to both companies' autonomous vehicle strategies.
Mounting Tensions
The divorce comes after months of public friction between the two companies. In April 2026, Uber CTO Praveen Neppalli posted a video criticizing a Waymo robotaxi's behavior as "scary," an unusual public rebuke from a senior executive at a partner company.
Beyond safety rhetoric, the companies have clashed over regulatory strategy. Uber and Waymo are now on opposite sides of robotaxi lobbying efforts in Washington D.C., advocating for different approaches to autonomous vehicle oversight.
The competitive dynamic will intensify in London later in 2026, where Waymo plans to launch independently while Uber has partnered with UK-based autonomous vehicle company Wayve.
Strategic Implications
For Waymo, the move signals confidence in its ability to attract riders directly without Uber's distribution network. The company has spent over a decade building its autonomous driving technology and appears ready to capture the full customer relationship—and revenue—rather than sharing it with a platform partner.
Uber faces a gap in its autonomous vehicle capacity. The company has pursued multiple partnerships in the space, including collaborations with Lucid, Nuro, and Hertz.
The separation reflects a broader maturation of the robotaxi industry, where early partnerships designed to accelerate deployment are giving way to companies betting on their own ecosystems as the technology approaches commercial viability.