Waymo Is Ending Its Uber Exclusivity in January 2028 — and Uber Says Only It Can Make Robotaxis Pay

Waymo will end its exclusivity with Uber in the Austin and Atlanta markets starting in January 2028, co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana told Bloomberg News in a report published November 4. The robotaxi company will offer rides directly through its own smartphone app, as it does in other cities. Uber confirmed it still plans to host Waymo robotaxis on its app for as long as the two companies agree.

The split has a specific cause: Waymo was not happy that Uber app users requesting a Waymo ride were not guaranteed to get one. Waymo initially partnered with Uber because the ride-hail giant offered scale, and the deal was set to expire in May 2028. Mawakana’s comments follow reporting earlier this year that Waymo was looking to get out of the arrangement — and Uber told Bloomberg it was Waymo’s idea not to add an option in the ride-hail app to book a robotaxi directly.

The news landed on the same day Uber announced its quarterly results, and CEO Dara Khosrowshahi used the moment to argue the opposite case: that Uber is the natural home for robotaxi fleet operators, because it already delivers around 30% higher trips per vehicle per day than apps run by autonomous cab companies. Uber users booked $59.8 billion worth of services in the third quarter, up 20% year over year. Khosrowshahi also outlined plans to put around 2,000 robo-cabs on the road in 2027, before a much larger commercial ramp beginning in 2028 — meaning Uber will run some cars itself and rely on third-party operators who allow bookings on its app.

The honest read is that both companies are right about different things. Waymo, with 4,000-plus driverless vehicles and more than 500,000 paid rides a week, is big enough to own its customer relationship in its core cities. Uber, with unmatched demand density, can genuinely make a smaller fleet more productive. January 2028 will show whether riders follow the Waymo app — or stay where the cars are easiest to summon.