Uber is in talks with Alphabet’s driving unit Waymo for using its technology in the former’s ride-hailing app. This was disclosed by Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi at the Code Conference, who hinted about a possible partnership on autonomous driving.
Khosrowshahi said that the relationship between his company and Waymo is getting better since last February when Uber agreed to pay $245 million in shares to Waymo to settle a legal dispute over trade secrets.’
Waymo filed a lawsuit last year saying that one of its former engineers took thousands of confidential documents with him when he became Uber’s chief of the autonomous car project. This lawsuit was expensive for Uber in terms of money and time over its autonomous developments.
Khosrowshahi expressed his belief that technologies behind self-driving should be shared. He mentioned that any tech player like Waymo wanting to lead the market would need the help of Uber’s network.
Now, Waymo is partners with Lyft, which is a rival to Uber. Also, Waymo plans to bring an app-based service within 2018, offering rides in a fully autonomous driving Waymo car, without any driver.
On the other hand, Khosrowshahi said that Uber would resume its self-driving operation in the coming months after shutting down temporarily after the Arizona incident. Khosrowshahi added that the unfortunate incident eventually “is going to make us a better company.”
