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SAN FRANCISCO & ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: UBER) and May Mobility, Inc. have entered into a strategic partnership to deploy autonomous vehicles (AVs) on the Uber platform, with Arlington, Texas, earmarked as the first city for launch by year-end 2025. The collaboration is set to scale up the use of AVs for ride-hailing services and is indicative of May Mobility’s growing presence in the Autonomy-as-a-Service (AaaS) sector.
The partnership is poised to introduce thousands of May Mobility’s AVs, starting with hybrid-electric Toyota Sienna Autono-MaaS vehicles, to Uber’s ride-hail platform over the coming years. Initially, these AVs will be accompanied by onboard safety operators before transitioning to fully driverless operations. Following the Arlington launch, the companies plan to expand their AV offerings to additional U.S. markets in 2026. With EBITDA of $3.536 billion and an overall financial health score rated as "GREAT" by InvestingPro, Uber appears well-positioned to support this expansion.
Uber’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, emphasizing Uber’s commitment to advancing the future of transportation through partnerships with leading AV developers like May Mobility. The goal is to commercialize and deploy AV technology on a global scale rapidly.
May Mobility’s proprietary Multi-Policy Decision Making (MPDM) technology is a key feature of the AVs being deployed. It enables real-time decision-making, akin to human reasoning, allowing the vehicles to navigate unexpected situations without reliance on predefined scenarios. The MPDM platform has already been tested in various U.S. and Japanese cities, including three with driverless operations.
Edwin Olson, CEO and co-founder of May Mobility, stated that the launch on the Uber platform underscores the company’s readiness to expand its AaaS offerings to major markets. May Mobility has been operating in Arlington since 2021, and this experience is expected to facilitate a swift rollout and subsequent expansion.
The announcement reflects the growing interest and investment in the AV market, which is estimated to be worth $1 trillion in the United States. The partnership aims to enhance consumer choice by providing an alternative, autonomous transportation option on the Uber platform.
Further details on the deployment and expansion plans will be disclosed in the upcoming months. This news report is based on a press release statement from the companies involved.
In other recent news, Uber Technologies Inc. has maintained strong confidence from analysts, with BMO Capital Markets reaffirming an Outperform rating and a $92 price target, citing Uber’s strategic growth in the delivery market and successful partnerships, such as the launch of Waymo in Austin. Similarly, Truist Securities has maintained a Buy rating with the same price target, highlighting Uber’s robust Mobility services and slightly surpassing Delivery forecasts, as well as the company’s strategic advancements in autonomous vehicle technology. In a strategic collaboration, Uber and Volkswagen are set to introduce autonomous ID. Buzz vehicles for ride-hailing services in the U.S., starting with Los Angeles, with a commercial launch expected in 2026. Meanwhile, Uber is reportedly in talks to acquire Trendyol Go, a Turkish food delivery platform, although no final agreement has been reached. On the legal front, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit against Uber, accusing the company of enrolling users in its Uber One subscription service without consent and making misleading claims about the service’s benefits. Despite these challenges, BMO Capital’s legal experts suggest that consumer behavior may not change significantly due to the lawsuit. Investors are also closely watching Uber’s upcoming first-quarter results for 2025, which are anticipated to align with current expectations.
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