Today, Uber Freight and Waymo Via announced a long-term strategic partnership to connect their technologies and deploy autonomous trucks at scale on the Uber Freight network. This partnership combines the capabilities of Waymo’s autonomous driving technology with the scale of Uber Freight’s network and marketplace technology, establishing a roadmap for strategic implementation of autonomous trucks on roads across the US.

The agreement is an important milestone that includes a deep product integration and long-term collaboration roadmap that involves building the tools and infrastructure specific to the successful deployment of autonomous trucks for Uber Freight’s shipper and carrier customers. In the future, freight carriers that purchase trucks equipped with ‘Waymo Driver’ will be able to opt in to Uber Freight’s marketplace to make it easy and convenient for carriers to deploy their autonomous vehicles on the Uber Freight network.

These applications will feature onboarding, load booking and execution, trailer transfers, payments, and collaboration tools where human drivers and autonomous trucks can operate in a hybrid network to move freight. Both companies envision a future where autonomous trucks handle the long-haul portion of driving, reducing the burden of the increasing demand for freight while also enabling drivers to focus on short-haul jobs that enhance the drivers’ quality of life.

As part of the long-term agreement, Waymo Via intends to reserve billions of miles of its goods-only capacity for the Uber Freight network. For shippers, this partnership means that Uber Freight, alongside Transplace, will be able to integrate autonomy seamlessly into shipper networks and advise on how best to adjust their supply-chain strategies for a hybrid network future — where autonomously-driven trucks and human-driven trucks operate side-by-side to move freight more efficiently and safely.

Uber Freight is also uniquely positioned to combine shipments from the $17 billion of freight it currently manages to maximize utilization of autonomous and human-driven trucks, and continuously optimize routes once the technology is deployed, driving savings and improving service and reliability for shippers.

“Uber Freight’s extensive, efficient, and reliable digital network is essential to making autonomous trucks a reality,” said Lior Ron, Head of Uber Freight. “We are uniquely positioned to be the preferred network for autonomous trucks, with the scale and the marketplace expertise to deploy autonomous trucks in a way that benefits the entire industry. This partnership is an exciting leap forward, and we are proud to work alongside the amazing team at Waymo Via to pioneer a hybrid freight network that truly empowers carriers and will ring in a new era of logistics.”

“Uber Freight’s network of shippers, carriers, and marketplace technology is a great match for the Waymo Driver,” said Charlie Jatt, Head of Commercialization for Trucking, Waymo Via. “Through this partnership, we can empower carriers to fully utilize their investments in the Waymo Via solution through Uber Freight and create a great experience for shippers, while keeping our focus on developing the core Driver technology. We’re really excited to see how this partnership can impact the logistics industry and solve critical challenges over the next decade and beyond.”

“Partnering with Uber Freight opens up really interesting opportunities for us to help scale the Waymo Driver,” said Boris Sofman, Head of Engineering for Trucking, Waymo Via. “By combining the Waymo Via solution with the Uber Freight platform, we’ll be able to apply proven marketplace technology to help carriers dynamically deploy the Waymo Driver where it’s most valuable and most capable. We can’t wait to see what else comes from this deep collaboration.”

This partnership comes at a time of high fuel costs, a shortage of drivers, and rapidly increasing demand for logistics. Uber’s vision for the future of the industry is one that will rely on a combination of autonomously driven and human-driven trucks deployed efficiently and at scale across a digital and optimized network. 

Source: Uber Freight