SAN FRANCISCO – Google-owned Waymo on Tuesday said it will put its self-driving car technology to work for Uber in a partnership between the one-time rivals.

The alliance will start later in 2023 in the United States city of Phoenix, where autonomous rides and deliveries using Waymo cars will be integrated into Uber’s platform, the companies said in a joint statement.

“Fully autonomous driving is quickly becoming part of everyday life, and we’re excited to bring Waymo’s incredible technology to the Uber platform,” said Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi.

Waymo’s self-driving car network in the Phoenix area, in the state of Arizona, covers more than 466 sq km, according to the company.

“The pairing of our pioneering technology and all-electric fleet with (Uber’s) customer network provides Waymo with an opportunity to reach even more people,” said Waymo co-chief executive Tekedra Mawakana.

Waymo’s ride-hailing programme has been operating in Phoenix since 2017.

Waymo and Uber in early 2018 announced an agreement in a blockbuster federal lawsuit over allegedly stolen trade secrets from the Google self-driving car project.

The surprise agreement ended a trial between the two Silicon Valley rivals competing in a race to develop autonomous cars.

A source familiar with the confidential deal said Uber agreed to a financial settlement giving Google, a unit of Alphabet, a small stake in Uber.

Uber also agreed not to use any of Waymo’s technology for autonomous driving, as part of the settlement.

Waymo had alleged that Uber conspired with a former Google engineer, who had been accused of downloading thousands of proprietary documents before leaving the company and ending up at Uber.

Uber’s autonomous-vehicle aspirations took a hit after a US investigation into the death of a pedestrian struck by a self-driving Uber car in 2018 faulted driver inattention and inadequate safety measures implemented by the company.

Uber sold its autonomous car division in 2020 to Aurora in a deal that gave the ride-hailing giant a stake in the start-up developing self-driving technology, the companies said at the time.

Unmanned Ubers began hitting the streets at the end of 2022 in a venture with the company Motional, but always with a human ready to take the controls. AFP