Uber Freight and Waymo Via announced a long-term strategic cooperation today to connect their technology and scale the deployment of autonomous vehicles on the Uber Freight network. This partnership brings together Waymo's technology for self-driving cars with Uber Freight's network and top marketplace technologies to create a plan for putting smart and safe self-driving trucks on U.S. highways.
This deal is a significant step forward since it includes a deep product integration and a long-term collaboration plan that includes developing the tools and infrastructure required for Uber Freight's shipper and carrier customers to successfully deploy autonomous trucks. Carriers who purchase Waymo Driver-equipped trucks in the future will be able to join Uber Freight's marketplace via user-friendly apps that will let them effortlessly deploy their autonomous assets across the Uber Freight network.
These apps will simplify onboarding, load booking and execution, trailer transfers, and payment, while also enabling a hybrid network ecology in which human drivers and autonomous trucks may work together seamlessly to convey freight. Both firms envision a future in which autonomous trucks handle long-haul driving, alleviating some of the stress of rising freight demand while also allowing drivers to change to shorter-haul occupations that improve their quality of life. The firms will also investigate how the transfer hub model may work with Uber Freight's universal trailer pool program, Powerloop, for smooth and quick transfers between AV trucks and human drivers, streamlining operations between the first, middle, and final mile.
Waymo Via aims to reserve billions of miles of its goods-only capacity for the Uber Freight network as part of the long-term arrangement. Because of the size and scope of this partnership, Uber Freight and Transplace will be able to seamlessly integrate autonomy into shipper networks and advise shippers on how to best adjust their supply-chain strategies for a hybrid network future, in which autonomously driven trucks and human-driven trucks work together to move freight more efficiently and safely. Uber Freight is also in a unique position to combine shipments from its $17 billion in freight under management to maximize the use of autonomous and human-driven trucks, as well as to continuously optimize routes once the technology is deployed, saving shippers money, and improving service and reliability.
“Uber Freight’s extensive, efficient, and reliable digital network is essential to making autonomous trucks a reality. 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.”
-Lior Ron, Head of Uber Freight