Uber is bringing more robotaxis onto its platform through multiple announcements in the last week—the latest coming yesterday is a collaboration with autonomous vehicle (AV) company Pony.ai—as CEO Dara Khoshrowshahi said AVs are critical for the company's growth.
"We are confident that AV technology is the single greatest opportunity ahead for Uber. And we are laser-focused on bringing more partners and more AVs, in more places, onto the Uber platform," he wrote in the company's Q1 2025 earnings statement.
The partnership with China-based Pony.ai is expected to launch in the Middle East later this year, with additional international markets to be added down the road, the companies said.
Uber app users will have the chance to have a trip fulfilled by a Pony.ai autonomous vehicle once they are available on the platform. The vehicles will have a safety operator on board during the pilot phase.
“At Pony.ai, our vision is to develop autonomous driving technology that is not only safe and reliable but also scalable, transforming daily transportation,” said James Peng, co-founder and CEO of Pony.ai.
“Partnering with Uber accelerates our shared mission to make autonomous mobility a real, everyday experience for more consumers around the world. By combining our proven autonomous systems with Uber’s unparalleled ride-hailing platform, we’re poised to set a new standard for the commercialization of driverless services, starting in the Middle East before expanding to new markets.”
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On Tuesday Uber said it was expanding its partnership with WeRide, which specialises in autonomous driving technology. The companies, which have already launched a robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi, are adding 15 more cities over the next five years outside of the United States and China.
Last week Uber announced a multi-year partnership with May Mobility to bring thousands of AVs on to the Uber platform in the United States over the next few years. The initial launch is planned for Arlington, Texas, by the end of 2025. It also announced a deal with Momenta, with deployment beginning in Europe in 2026.
In the Q1 earnings released this morning, Uber reported a 14% increase in gross bookings to almost $43 billion for the first quarter of 2025. Uber’s revenue increased 14% in Q1 to almost $12 billion.
The company said trips increased 18% year-over-year to 3 billion attributed to a 14% growth in monthly active platform consumers.
Net income was $1.8 billion while adjusted EBITDA increased 35% to $1.9 billion.
“We kicked off the year with yet another quarter of profitable growth at scale, with trips up 18% and even stronger user retention,” Khosrowshahi said.
“Supported by the consistent strength of our core business, we continue to build towards the future, including five new autonomous vehicle announcements in just the last week.”
Khosrowshahi described the Pony.ai partnership as "another meaningful step towards introducing the benefits of autonomous mobility to the world."
“As the leading on-demand platform of its kind, spanning mobility, delivery and freight, Uber is uniquely positioned to help accelerate the commercialization of this exciting technology.”