Uber teams up with May Mobility to launch robotaxis in U.S. cities

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(Reuters) -Uber Technologies said on Thursday it will partner with self-driving technology startup May Mobility to deploy thousands of self-driving vehicles on its ride-hailing platform across U.S. cities, starting with Arlington, Texas, by late 2025.

This adds to Uber’s growing list of partners for self-driving taxi deployment as it competes with Lyft and EV-maker Tesla in the robotaxi market.

The ride-sharing market leader expanded its partnership with Alphabet’s Waymo last year and signed new deals with China’s WeRide and Avride to strengthen its position in the burgeoning segment.

Tesla unveiled its Cybercab robotaxi concept in October, with production planned for 2026 and service launch expected in Austin, Texas this year.

Analysts and industry experts caution that developing self-driving systems face significant engineering and regulatory challenges.

The U.S. federal government is facilitating the deployment of autonomous vehicles by expanding exemptions from certain safety requirements while maintaining mandatory incident reporting.

May Mobility’s robotaxis will initially operate with safety drivers before transitioning to fully autonomous operations.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based startup has raised over $380 million from investors including Toyota and BMW.

May Mobility, which has been operating in Arlington since 2021, will operate U.S.-made gasoline-electric hybrid Toyota Sienna minivans under the partnership, the companies said.​

May Mobility last year announced a similar collaboration with Lyft to deploy self-driving taxis in Atlanta, Georgia, starting this year.

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(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)