Uber Beats Waymo to Launch London's First Robotaxi Fleet Using Lidar-Free Wayve Tech

Uber launched a commercial robotaxi service in London using autonomous driving technology developed by UK-based startup Wayve. The autonomous vehicles rely entirely on cameras and radar instead of expensive lidar hardware, and they operate without a restricted geofence. Uber intends to spend upwards of $10B to build out its robotaxi operations over time, while Wayve raised $1.2B earlier this year from backers including Uber, Nvidia, and Stellantis. Waymo plans to launch its own driverless fleet in London before the end of the year, while Lyft is working with Baidu on a separate service starting in Brent. Human safety drivers will monitor the driving from the front seat initially, though Uber plans to gradually phase them out.