Uber Freight and Waymo Via herald new strategic partnership

Earlier this week, San Francisco-based Uber Freight, a subsidiary of the ubiquitous, ride-sharing service Uber, whose proprietary app matches trucking companies with loads to haul, and Mountain View, Calif.-based Waymo Via, the trucking and local delivery unit of autonomous driving technology company Waymo, announced that they have established a long-term strategic partnership.

The companies said that the objective of the partnership is to connect their respective technologies and deploy autonomous trucks at scale on the Uber Freight network, while meshing Waymo’s autonomous driving technology with Uber Freight’s network and marketplace technology.

“Uber Freight’s extensive, efficient and reliable digital network is essential to making autonomous trucks a reality,” said Lior Ron, Head of Uber Freight, in a statement. “We are uniquely positioned to be the preferred network for autonomous trucks, with the scale and the marketplace expertise to deploy autonomous trucks in a way that benefits the entire industry. This partnership is an exciting leap forward and we are proud to work alongside the amazing team at Waymo Via to pioneer a hybrid freight network that truly empowers carriers and will ring in a new era of logistics.”

An Uber Freight spokesperson told LM that this announcement is the culmination of the two companies working closely together, for a long period, prior to making it official. Uber Freight and Waymo did not have a previous relationship or partnership. 

In terms of what drove the need for the partnership, she said that increasing demand, coupled with a shortage of drivers, has brought the industry to an inflection point.

“The future of logistics relies on a combination of autonomously driven trucks and human-driven trucks deployed efficiently and at scale across a digital and optimized network—eliminating deadhead, streamlining supply chains, and helping to create safer roads,” she said. “Uber Freight and Waymo’s deep relationship and milestone agreement goes beyond pilots to bring together the power of Waymo’s autonomous driving technology with the scale of Uber Freight’s network and leading marketplace technology, ultimately unlocking a roadmap for the thoughtful and safe implementation of the Waymo Driver on America’s roads at scale.” 

What’s more, the spokesperson explained that the scale and depth of this partnership means that Uber Freight (alongside with its 3PL subsidiary Transplace) will be able to integrate autonomy seamlessly into shipper networks and advise on how best to adjust their supply chain strategies for a hybrid network future.

“With this partnership, shippers will also have all of the tools necessary to transform procurement strategies and incorporate autonomous capacity into their day-to-day operations,” she said. “Uber Freight is also uniquely positioned to combine shipments from its $17B of Freight Under Management to maximize utilization of autonomous trucks and continuously optimize routes once the technology is deployed, driving savings and improving service and reliability for shippers.”

As part of this partnership, Waymo Via intends to reserve billions of miles of its goods-only capacity for the Uber Freight network, promising to meaningfully impact the industry in the near- and long-term, the spokesperson said, adding that deploying billions of miles of Waymo Via’s goods-only capacity within Uber Freight’s vast network will ensure meaningful impact of the technology for shippers and carriers, unlocking capacity at a time when shippers need it most and attracting more freight into the marketplace for carriers of all sizes to take advantage of. 

“An extensive and efficient digital network like Uber Freight is essential to making autonomous trucks a reality,” she said. “Uber Freight is uniquely positioned as the preferred network for autonomous freight—we provide the data and algorithms needed to deploy autonomous driving trucks in a way that benefits the entire industry (carriers, shippers, OEMs, and drivers alike). And, our customers and partners have always been early, enthusiastic adopters of new technologies and supply chain innovations. Both companies envision a future where safely deployed autonomous trucks tackle the long-haul portion of driving, easing some of the burden of the increasing demand for freight while also enabling drivers to shift into short-haul jobs that get them home more often and enhance the occupation’s quality of life, ultimately creating value for everyone in the supply chain.”

Charlie Jatt, Head of Commercialization for Trucking, Waymo Via, in a statement that Uber Freight’s network of shippers, carriers, and marketplace technology is a great match for the Waymo Driver.

“Through this partnership, we can empower carriers to fully utilize their investments in the Waymo Via solution through Uber Freight, and create a great experience for shippers, while keeping our focus on developing the core Driver technology,” said Jatt. “We’re really excited to see how this partnership can impact the logistics industry and solve critical challenges over the next decade and beyond.”

Waymo Via has been very active in working with freight transportation and logistics services providers on similar efforts. In February, it announced a partnership with C.H. Robinson focused on mutually exploring the practical application of autonomous driving technology in both logistics and supply chains. And in June 2021 it announced a partnership with J.B. Hunt for an initiative focused on an intra-Texas test run movement of freight for a leading J.B. Hunt shipper customer. Hunt officials said that the test run will use Waymo Via, the company’s autonomous Class 8 trucking unit powered by the Waymo Driver and move freight between its customer’s Texas-based locations in Houston and Fort Worth on Interstate 45.