Alphabet's Waymo has told Uber Technologies it plans to launch its own consumer robotaxi app in Austin and Atlanta in January 2028, effectively ending the exclusive marketplace deal that has powered its rides in those two cities, according to reports from Bloomberg, the Financial Times and CNBC on July 24, 2026.
The Split Timeline
Under the notice, hundreds of Waymo robotaxis will remain available on Uber's platform through at least May 2028, the duration of the current contract, before Waymo's own app fully takes over. The move follows Uber and Waymo's earlier decision in June to end their more limited Phoenix partnership, with Uber promptly signing a new robotaxi partner for that market.
Rising Rivalry
The two companies have functioned as both partners and rivals for years, but tensions have escalated. Waymo has raised concerns about vehicle cleanliness and routing on Uber's platform, while Uber has criticized Waymo's sudden unavailability in bad weather and called the arrangement's economics "unsustainable." Uber shares fell as much as 4.8% on the news, underscoring how much of Uber's robotaxi optionality currently sits with Waymo.
Waymo's Direct-To-Consumer Push
By January 2028, Austin and Atlanta will join a growing set of U.S. metros where Waymo runs a first-party consumer app alongside partner deployments, matching a strategy also being pursued by rivals such as Momenta and Baidu in China. The shift places Alphabet in more direct competition with Uber and rideshare rival Lyft for the ride-hail wallet in premium U.S. markets.
McKinsey estimates that robotaxi services now generate more than 700,000 fully autonomous rides per week, with Waymo alone reporting over 250,000 paid weekly rides across its network. That momentum, combined with fresh capital pouring into physical AI and autonomy startups, is fueling a race between platforms that want to own the customer relationship rather than share it.
Reporting based on coverage from Bloomberg, the Financial Times, CNBC, TechCrunch and TT News.