On Friday, local time, the American online car-hailing platform Uber announced that starting from early 2025, it will launch self-driving taxi services in Austin and Atlanta in cooperation with Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet. After the news came out, Uber's stock price rose more than 6% during the trading day.

Both companies stated that in Austin and Atlanta, Uber customers can call Waymo's self-driving taxi services through the Uber app, and these services can only be provided through the Uber app. In San Francisco and Los Angeles, passengers can also book ride services through the Waymo app.

Through this expanded partnership, Uber will manage the Waymo I-Pace fleet, including providing vehicle cleaning, maintenance, and other general warehouse operations. Waymo will continue to be responsible for vehicle testing and operation, including roadside assistance and certain passenger support functions.

As the self-driving car industry gradually expands, Uber is facing pressure from investors to accelerate its layout in this industry, especially to catch up with Tesla. Tesla has not yet launched self-driving cars, but plans to launch robotaxis in October.

According to Waymo, the company revealed last month that it provides over 0.1 million paid services per week in the United States, more than double the number in May. Waymo currently owns about 700 self-driving cars and operates the only commercial self-driving taxi service in the United States, Waymo One.

Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, said: "We are delighted to establish a successful partnership with Waymo, which has provided self-driving travel services to tens of thousands of passengers in Phoenix."

Waymo CEO Tekedra Mawakana claims, "So far, we are delighted with the positive feedback from Waymo One passengers, and we are excited to collaborate with Uber to bring comfortable, convenient, and safe service to these cities."

Previously, Uber has launched an autonomous delivery service with Waymo, currently limited to Uber Eats users in Phoenix, Chandler, Mesa, and Tempe, where customers in these cities may be matched with Waymo's self-driving cars and deliveries may be made in a driverless manner.

A Waymo spokesperson stated that the expansion in Austin and Atlanta will not initially include Uber Eats, but they are exploring possibilities for the future.

In addition to Waymo, Uber has also established partnerships with General Motors' Cruise and the UK startup Wayve, attempting to accelerate their presence in the self-driving car industry. Uber claims that they do not expect autonomous driving to become a major source of profit in the next 5 to 10 years, but it does not affect their investment in this field. To a large extent, this is also for strategic defense.

Meanwhile, Waymo has made rapid progress in the autonomous driving race. The company currently offers taxi services to the public in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. As of June this year, the company's mileage has exceeded 22 million miles. Last week, the company released a report stating that their self-driving cars are safer than human drivers.

Analysts are more bullish on Uber and Waymo's expansion in San Francisco, seeing it as a more positive business move, while Waymo's testing activities in Atlanta and Austin will also have a positive impact on the market sentiment.