GoKawiilAmazon 's Zoox is making its toaster-shaped self-driving vehicles available through the Uber app in Las Vegas starting this summer, the latest sign of momentum in the nascent but fast-growing robotaxi market.
As part of a multiyear partnership announced Wednesday, the companies said they plan to make Zoox rides available in Los Angeles next year. In both cities, Zoox will continue to offer rides on its own app as well.
Amazon, which acquired Zoox in 2020, is way behind Alphabet's Waymo, the U.S. robotaxi leader. Waymo said in February that it had surpassed 400,000 weekly rides across six U.S. metro areas. It's now operating its service commercially in 10 U.S. cities, and aiming for expansion to London and Tokyo in 2026.
Meanwhile, robotaxi companies in Asia, including Baidu's Apollo Go, WeRide and Pony.AI, continue to expand. Baidu reported that in the fourth quarter, its peak weekly rides surpassed 300,000.
Zoox's deal with Uber is a sign of growing confidence in Amazon's ability to expand after years of development, and marks the company's first tie-up with a third-party platform.
"This partnership is an opportunity to continue advancing the use of autonomous mobility in daily life," Zoox CEO Aicha Evans said in a statement. "Through our collaboration, Zoox will provide a differentiated rider experience to those who already know and love the convenience of riding with Uber."
For Uber, the alliance comes as executives pitch the company's platform as the best way for autonomous vehicle makers to tap rider demand.
During Uber's fourth-quarter earnings call in February, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told analysts that AVs available via his company's app attain "significantly higher utilization" than robotaxis hailed on "stand-alone platforms," basing those estimates on unspecified publicly available data. Trips per AV, per day are 30% higher on Uber, Khosrowshahi said.
By the end of 2026, Uber is aiming to offer driverless rides in 15 cities, the company said in a statement. It already has driverless options in Atlanta, Austin, Texas, Dallas and Phoenix in the U.S., and in several Middle East cities with a variety of partners.