Culture
The Beginning of the Driverless Taxi Wars?
There are signs Uber and Google could become "ferocious competitors" instead of allies.
When driverless car leader Google made a $258 million* investment in ride-hail leader Uber back in 2013, the marriage seemed headed toward a world of on-demand autonomous taxis that render car-ownership in cities totally optional. But the honeymoon appears to be ending, according to Brad Stone of Bloomberg Business. Citing unnamed sources, Stone reports "signs that the companies are more likely to be ferocious competitors than allies":
Google would not confirm (nor explicitly deny) the report—instead issuing what Stone calls a "cryptic tweet" about how Uber and Lyft "work quite well." Uber, meanwhile, recently announced a partnership with Carnegie Mellon to develop its own driverless car technology in Pittsburgh.