Waymo to end Uber partnership in Austin and Atlanta by January 2028

Waymo has announced that it will cease its partnership with Uber in Austin and Atlanta effective January 2028. Following the transition, the autonomous vehicle company will exclusively offer rides through its own proprietary mobile application.

Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana stated that the shift is intended to establish a direct relationship with riders. Mawakana noted that the current integration has led to an inconsistent user experience, as passengers have been unable to reliably distinguish between autonomous vehicle options and human-driven rides on the Uber platform.

While the partnership was originally pursued to leverage Uber’s scale, the company has decided that a direct-to-consumer model better serves its operational goals. Uber, which maintains a portfolio of various autonomous vehicle partners, confirmed that the decision to limit bookings was driven by Waymo. Although the companies’ formal agreement is scheduled to expire in May 2028, the service split is set to begin four months earlier.