Uber, Cruise to Launch Robotaxi Service Next Year

Uber Technologies and Cruise, an autonomous vehicle company backed by General Motors, have announced a multiyear partnership to integrate Cruise’s self-driving vehicles into the Uber platform starting next year. Initially, the service will be available in one U.S. city with a fleet of Chevy Bolt-based autonomous vehicles. This collaboration aims to revolutionize urban mobility by offering Uber riders the option to choose a self-driving car for their journey. Cruise has resumed supervised autonomous driving in cities like Phoenix, Houston, and Dallas after a major accident in San Francisco last year. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and Cruise CEO Marc Whitten emphasized the partnership's potential to safely and reliably introduce autonomous technology to consumers. Analysts suggest that this partnership could be the first of several autonomous vehicle collaborations for Uber, reflecting a broader industry trend toward commoditizing autonomous vehicle technology.