Uber and May Mobility have announced a multi-year strategic partnership to introduce autonomous vehicles (AVs) to the Uber platform.

The initial deployment is set for Arlington, Texas, by the end of 2025.

Plans are in place to expand to other US markets in 2026.

Under the agreement, May Mobility will supply a fleet of hybrid-electric Toyota Sienna vehicles equipped with its Multi-Policy Decision Making (MPDM) technology.

May Mobility’s MPDM tech uses real-time, human-like reasoning to safely handle unexpected road situations.

The partnership signals May Mobility’s readiness to scale its autonomy-as-a-service model nationwide via the Uber platform.

🔗 Source: Uber

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Uber’s strategic pivot from building to partnering in autonomous vehicles

The May Mobility partnership represents a significant evolution in Uber’s autonomous vehicle strategy that has been years in the making.

Uber previously invested heavily in developing its own autonomous technology, with its Autonomous Technology Group (ATG) valued at $7.25 billion after a $1 billion investment from Toyota, Denso, and SoftBank in 2019 1.

However, this shift toward partnerships began after significant setbacks, including a fatal accident that led to testing suspensions and quarterly losses estimated between $100-200 million from its autonomous vehicle division 2.

Since 2017, Uber has pursued multiple strategic partnerships, including with Daimler to develop autonomous vehicles for its platform 3 and a $500 million collaboration with Toyota in 2018 to integrate Uber’s self-driving technology with Toyota’s Guardian system 4.

This latest partnership with May Mobility reflects CEO Dara Khosrowshahi’s long-term vision, articulated since 2018, that scaling autonomous technology requires collaborating with specialized technology providers rather than building everything in-house.

2️⃣ Consumer trust remains the critical barrier to autonomous vehicle adoption

Despite technological advances, Uber and May Mobility face significant consumer skepticism that could impact their rollout timeline.

Recent Uber developments