Uber has announced a new business unit, Uber Autonomous Solutions, aimed at partnering with developers of self-driving vehicles. The service suite offers AI training data, fleet management, and access to Uber’s network to accelerate robotaxi commercialization. Despite the strategic push to compete with Tesla in autonomous mobility, Uber’s stock fell over 4% following the announcement, alongside a nearly 4% drop for Tesla shares.
Uber is launching a new suite of services focused on helping developers of autonomous vehicles plug-in to its ride-hailing network. This move signals an aggressive push to add robotaxis to its platform to compete with Tesla (TSLA).
Despite the news, Uber stock is down over 4% on Monday, with Tesla stock also down nearly 4%. Today’s dip came as the rideshare company faces pressure from a negative report on AI job displacement.
Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said in a news release, “Innovation in autonomy is moving quickly, but meaningful commercialization will take much longer.” He stated the company is now externalizing its operational competencies for partners.
The Uber Autonomous Solutions will offer a “comprehensive suite” of services, including AI training data and regulatory support, Uber said. The overall strategy leverages Uber’s demand-forecasting app and over 200 million regular users to provide partners a path to payoff.
The shift to AI by Uber mirrors moves by Tesla, which some Wall Street investors have praised. Late last month, Tesla announced it would end production of its Model S and X to convert a factory toward manufacturing its Optimus humanoid robots.
This comes alongside a 3% year-over-year revenue decline and 11% drop in automotive revenue for Tesla. The move fuels the sentiment that leading tech giants are shifting full-force towards AI.
