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Uber turns on Waymo as it pours $10B+ into owning robotaxi alternatives
Uber is investing $10 billion to own robotaxis after Waymo's 400,000 weekly rides showed AV operators can bypass platforms.
What: Uber is pouring over $10 billion into owning robotaxi fleets after Waymo scaled to 400,000 rides per week, demonstrating that autonomous vehicle operators can bypass ride-hailing platforms entirely.
Why it matters: This marks the reversal of the platform playbook: Uber built a business on avoiding asset ownership, but Waymo's success at operating independently forces them to become the capital-intensive fleet operator they once disrupted.
Original article
Waymo's rapid scaling to 400,000 rides per week proved that AV operators might not need Uber at all, so Uber is pivoting to asset ownership to avoid being cut out entirely.
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