The world's largest ride-hailing platform, with operations in more than 70 countries and 10,000 cities. Sensor Tower reckons Uber has 42m monthly active users. Co-founded by Travis Kalanick, whose credo was "always be hustlin'." Dara Khosrowshahi is the current chief executive. He has said that the market for self-driving technology could be worth $1trn or more in America alone. Although founded 16 years ago, Uber first turned an annual operating profit only in 2023. It posted an operating profit of $2.8bn in 2024. Americans currently spend around $50bn a year on ride-hailing.
Under Kalanick, Uber developed self-driving technology in-house, reportedly sinking some $3bn into the project. It abandoned the effort after one of its vehicles hit and killed a pedestrian—the first death caused by a self-driving car—and sold the unit in 2020 to Aurora, a startup focused on autonomous lorries.
Uber's new strategy is to strike deals with as many robotaxi developers as possible, offering them access to passengers at scale through the Uber app. Partners include Volkswagen, which will start offering a robotaxi service in Los Angeles in 2026; WeRide, a Chinese startup collaborating with Uber in 15 cities worldwide over five years; Apollo Go, the autonomous-vehicle arm of Baidu, which offers trips in Asia and the Middle East; and Wayve, a British startup with which Uber plans to trial robotaxi rides in London in 2026. Uber has also signed a deal with Lucid, an electric-vehicle maker, and Nuro, another startup, to supply 20,000 robotaxis over six years.
Uber's relationship with Waymo, the self-driving unit of Alphabet, may prove the most consequential. Waymo operates in five American cities and has a dozen more in its sights. Rides can be booked on Waymo's own app or on Uber's in Atlanta and Austin.
Uber's bet is that human drivers and robotaxis will co-exist for years to come. Eventually, however, robotaxis will become the cheaper option, says Sarfraz Maredia, Uber's head of autonomy, which is why the company is manoeuvring itself into position now. Khosrowshahi wants Tesla on Uber's platform but expects Elon Musk to go it alone. Goldman Sachs reckons 35,000 robotaxis may be on the road in America by 2030.
I can give you my word, but I know what it's worth and you don't.