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Uber says it plans to spend $10 billion to put 2,000 robotaxis on its platform in 20 cities by the end of 2027, with about half in the United States. Waymo already has roughly 4,000 vehicles on the road, according to the report, and has its own larger expansion targets. Uber’s timeline depends on partners moving from testing to commercial service, and the company has not provided a schedule for a separate 120,000-vehicle partner commitment.
Uber says it plans to spend $10 billion to bring 2,000 robotaxis onto its platform in 20 cities by the end of 2027, setting a defined fleet target as it expands partnerships with autonomous-vehicle companies. The goal is ambitious, but the source report estimates that Waymo already has about 4,000 vehicles on the road, giving the rival and current Uber partner a substantial head start.
Uber disclosed the plan alongside its third-quarter earnings. About half of the planned 2,000 vehicles are intended for the United States; the rest would be distributed across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Uber expects its robotaxi service to cover 20 cities by the target date. The company also said it plans to have 700 robotaxis on its platform by the end of this year.
The fleet would rely on several partners, including May Mobility, Momenta, Zoox and Motional, as well as others. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company’s autonomous strategy was entering a new phase as partners moved from development and testing toward driverless commercial service. Uber says its partners have committed to bringing 120,000 robotaxis to its platform in the coming years, but has not attached a timeframe to that figure.
Uber says it expects to fund the planned expansion using its own earnings. The company has also said it might need to bring in third-party capital once its self-driving fleet grows beyond 10,000 vehicles. The report cited Uber gross bookings of $59.8 billion, up 20% year over year, as a measure of the business it can draw on as it pursues the investment plan. That figure is company performance context, not a stated budget for robotaxis.
Uber’s Fleet Must Catch Up
The announcement sets a measurable scale and deadline for Uber’s effort to make autonomous rides a larger part of its business. Yet the comparison with Waymo shows that a platform strategy and an operating fleet are not the same thing: Uber is counting on multiple partners to supply vehicles and launch services, while Waymo already operates its own robotaxi service in several U.S. cities, according to the report.
The target also matters for riders and competitors because commercial availability depends on more than the number of cars. Uber’s plan requires partners to progress from testing to driverless paid service, and the company must coordinate launches across regions with different operating conditions. If the partnerships or deployment schedules slip, the headline fleet target may not translate into broad access for customers by 2027.
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Waymo’s Existing Lead
Waymo is both a competitor and an Uber partner. In cities including Atlanta, customers can use Uber’s app to request a Waymo vehicle. The InsideEVs report says Waymo operates in 15 U.S. cities and has around 4,000 cars on the road. Those figures make clear why Uber’s 2,000-vehicle target does not, by itself, put the companies on equal footing.
Waymo has separately been reported to aim to double its fleet to 8,000 by the end of the year and reach 20,000 vehicles by the end of 2027. Those are future targets, not achieved fleet totals. Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana told Bloomberg that the company plans to end its exclusivity arrangement with Uber in Austin and Atlanta in January 2028. She described the customer experience under the arrangement as “a little bit of a crapshoot,” because Uber users did not know whether a ride request would be served by a robotaxi or a human driver.
“Our autonomous strategy is entering an important new phase as more of our partners move from development and testing into driverless commercial service.”
— Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, in written remarks accompanying the company’s third-quarter earnings
Fleet Timing and Funding
Uber has not identified the exact cities, launch dates or partner-by-partner vehicle allocations for its 2027 target. Its stated plan to reach 700 vehicles by the end of this year is a goal, not a confirmed result. The separate partner commitment to put 120,000 robotaxis on Uber’s platform has no published timeframe, so it should not be read as part of the 2,000-vehicle schedule.
It is also unclear how much of the $10 billion would go to vehicle purchases, operating costs, partner arrangements or other parts of deployment. Uber says it expects earnings to fund the plan but has left open the possibility of outside capital beyond 10,000 vehicles. Waymo’s reported fleet and future targets are based on the cited report; the material does not provide a common definition of fleet size or a direct comparison of vehicles available for rides at any given moment.
Partner Launches Set the Pace
The next near-term test is whether Uber reaches its stated 700-robotaxi goal by year-end and whether its partners begin expanding driverless commercial service. Further announcements would be needed to establish which cities are included, how the 2027 rollout will be staged and whether the planned spending is being deployed on schedule.
In Austin and Atlanta, the cited report places the end of Waymo’s Uber exclusivity arrangement in January 2028. Until then, the two companies remain linked in those markets even as they compete for the wider robotaxi business. The timing and terms of any changes to the customer experience beyond Mawakana’s stated plan have not been detailed.
Key Questions
How many robotaxis does Uber plan to have by the end of 2027?
Uber’s stated target is 2,000 robotaxis on its platform across 20 cities by the end of 2027. The company said about half would be in the United States.
How does that compare with Waymo?
The source report estimates Waymo already has around 4,000 vehicles on the road and operates in 15 U.S. cities. It also reports Waymo targets of 8,000 vehicles by year-end and 20,000 by the end of 2027; those are projections, not current totals.
Which companies are supplying Uber’s robotaxis?
Uber named May Mobility, Momenta, Zoox and Motional among its partners, along with others. The company has not published a full allocation of vehicles by partner.
Will Uber fund the plan itself?
Uber says it plans to use its earnings to fund the fleet expansion. It has also said it may seek third-party capital once its self-driving fleet exceeds 10,000 vehicles.
When could Waymo stop being exclusive to Uber in Austin and Atlanta?
Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana told Bloomberg the company plans to end its exclusivity deal with Uber in those cities in January 2028. The source material does not detail what service arrangements will replace it.
Source: insideevs.com
