Uber Freight and Waymo Via Partner to Accelerate the Future of Logistics
June 07 2022 - 11:00AM
Business Wire
The strategic agreement will enable the
companies to pursue a deep product integration and long-term
capacity reservation
Uber Freight and Waymo Via today announced a long-term strategic
partnership to connect their technologies and deploy autonomous
trucks at scale on the Uber Freight network. This partnership
brings together the power of Waymo’s autonomous driving technology
with the scale of Uber Freight’s network and leading marketplace
technology, unlocking a roadmap for the thoughtful and safe
implementation of autonomous trucks on America’s roads.
This 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. Carriers that purchase trucks
equipped with the Waymo Driver in the future will be able to opt-in
to Uber Freight’s marketplace through user-friendly applications
that enable them to seamlessly deploy their autonomous assets on
the Uber Freight network.
These applications will provide a streamlined experience for
onboarding, load booking and execution, trailer transfers, and
payment while also enabling an ecosystem where human drivers and
autonomous trucks can collaborate effortlessly in a hybrid network
to move freight. Both companies envision a future where autonomous
trucks tackle the long-haul portion of driving, easing some of the
burden of the increasing demand for freight while also enabling
drivers to shift into short-haul jobs that enhance the occupation’s
quality of life. Additionally, the companies will explore what the
transfer hub model could look like with Uber Freight's universal
trailer pool program, Powerloop, for easy and fast transfers
between AV trucks and human drivers, streamlining operations
between the first, middle and final mile.
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, the scale and depth of 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 its $17B of Freight Under Management 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. The future of the
industry will rely on a combination of autonomously-driven trucks
and human-driven trucks deployed efficiently and at scale across a
digital and optimized network. This innovative hybrid freight model
between Uber Freight and Waymo Via will be the key to unlocking
much-needed capacity for shippers, increasing fuel efficiency,
providing carriers with the opportunity to scale their businesses,
and ultimately streamlining global supply chains to the benefit of
everyone.
About Uber Freight
Uber Freight is a logistics platform built on the power of Uber
(NYSE: UBER) with the goal to reshape global logistics and to
deliver reliability, flexibility, and transparency for shippers and
carriers. Since launching in 2017 and acquiring Transplace in 2021,
Uber Freight has built one of the world's largest and most
comprehensive managed transportation and logistics networks. With
over $17 billion FUM, Uber Freight counts over 130,000 digitally
enabled carriers in its network and thousands of shippers as
customers, from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies,
including AB InBev, Land O’Lakes, LG, Nestlé, and many more.
About Waymo
Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company with a mission
to make it safe and easy for people and things to get where they’re
going. Since our start as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in
2009, Waymo has been focused on building, deploying, and
commercializing the World’s Most Experienced Driver™ technology to
improve the world's access to mobility while saving thousands of
lives now lost to traffic crashes. The Waymo Driver powers Waymo
One, the world's first fully autonomous ride-hailing service, as
well as Waymo Via, our trucking and local delivery service. To
date, Waymo has autonomously driven tens of millions of miles on
public roads and tens of billions of miles in simulation, across
13+ U.S. states. For more: www.waymo.com.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220607005261/en/
Press:
For Uber Freight: press@uber.com
For Waymo: press@waymo.com
Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024