In this new world where AI agents are seen as an upgrade over humans to handle various tasks more efficiently, it’s not surprising that Silicon Valley would see the future of the ride-hailing business as being driverless.
The race among key players to build out a highly scalable robotaxi fleet that can operate in cities across the U.S. is picking up steam.
Alphabet’s (GOOG) Waymo currently operates its robotaxis in five U.S. cities, with two more on the way.
And after about a decade of promising it, Elon Musk finally launched Tesla’s (TSLA) self-driving taxis in Austin, Texas in a trial run that involved influencers from around the country testing it out via an invite from the company.
But despite all the hype around robotaxis, the service is likely years from really taking off in a way that could someday threaten the market share of ride-hailing companies in the U.S. - most notably Uber Technologies (UBER) and Lyft, Inc. (LYFT).
However, it appears that Uber might be looking to get ahead of the potential threat through acquisition.
According to The New York Times, the company is exploring the possibility of acquiring the U.S. subsidiary of Chinese autonomous vehicle startup Pony.ai (PONY).
Perhaps most interestingly, these talks include reaching out to co-founder Travis Kalanick, who resigned in 2017 after some of Uber’s largest shareholders demanded his ouster because of news reports about a chaotic workplace culture that included claims of sexual harassment and discrimination.
Kalanick would help fund the acquisition of Pony and would then run the company if the deal is completed, according to The New York Times. He would remain on as head of the virtual kitchen startup CloudKitchen, which he founded after leaving Uber.
Uber not threatened by Tesla – yet
Although Pony primarily operates out of China, it was founded in Silicon Valley in 2016 and has permits to operate robo taxis and trucks in the U.S.
Uber already partners with Waymo - the latter's robotaxi fleet is available on the former’s app in both Atlanta and Austin.
And it recently teamed up with Chinese robotaxi startup WeRide (WRD) to bring autonomous vehicles to Dubai.
Uber and WeRide also launched a ride-hailing partnership in Abu Dhabi last year – the first time AVs were available on Uber’s app outside the U.S.
But some analysts see threats to Uber’s market share of the ride-hailing business in the U.S. coming from Waymo’s robotaxis - and now Tesla’s.
It should be noted though that Uber’s stock rose 7% the day after Tesla launched its robtotaxi trial run in Austin last month.
That could be because Tesla’s rollout was plagued by glitches, with videos posted on social media showing its taxis driving the wrong way or braking in the middle of the road.
As for Pony, the company recently revealed its seventh-generation robotaxi fleet at the Shanghai Auto Show, which it claims cuts production costs by 70% compared to earlier generations and is 20% to 30% cheaper to build than Waymo's cars.
The company went public in November, raising $260 million off its IPO.
Pony’s stock is down 13.4% YTD.
Meanwhile Uber’s shares have soared 54.7% YTD.
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