Waymo to end Uber exclusivity in Austin, Atlanta by 2028

Waymo will stop running its robotaxis exclusively through Uber in the Austin and Atlanta markets starting in January 2028, shifting those riders onto its own app instead — according to comments co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana gave Bloomberg News, in a report that ran Wednesday. Uber told TechCrunch it still intends to keep hosting Waymo’s robotaxis on its own app for as long as both companies keep agreeing to the arrangement; Waymo did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.

The move follows Financial Times reporting earlier this year that Waymo wanted out of its Uber tie-up, which had been due to run until May 2028. Mawakana said Waymo originally teamed up with Uber for the scale it offered, but called the rider experience “a little bit of a crapshoot” because customers could never be sure whether they’d get a robotaxi or a human driver. She added that Waymo wants a direct relationship with riders, citing feedback gathered from customers in the two markets. Uber, which works with several other autonomous-vehicle partners, told Bloomberg that leaving robotaxi booking out of its own app was Waymo’s call, not its own.

Why it matters

As Waymo expands direct bookings to more cities, the split signals robotaxi operators want to own the rider relationship — and the data that comes with it — rather than leaving it to ride-hail intermediaries such as Uber.