Uber plans to introduce driverless cars.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Google is developing a ride-hailing service that could eventually implement self-driving cars, Bloomberg reported Monday. The outlet cited sources close to Uber’s board, of which Google’s chief legal officer, David Drummond, is a member.
Google’s latest project puts it on a direct collision course with the industry’s current top dog. Google also happens to be one of Uber’s most sizable investors, which effectively places the company between a rock and a hard place.
Google’s potential incursion into the market that serves as Uber’s bread and butter comes two years after the former’s venture capital arm, Google Ventures, invested $258 million in the latter. At the time, Uber was valued at $3.5 billion; subsequent injections of funding have since increased Uber’s worth to more than $40 billion.
In order to remain competitive in the market they pioneered, Uber plans to develop its own driverless car technology and is building a research facility in Pittsburg to explore the notion further, TechCrunch reported just hours before Google’s plans were leaked. Autonomous vehicles would also allow Uber to increase revenue by eliminating the need for drivers who require their share of passengers’ fare money.
“Uber will be developing the core technology, the vehicles, and associated infrastructure at this Pittsburgh facility,” according to TechCrunch’s sources. They have already hired numerous employees and have started outfitting the the facility’s infrastructure, “including a multi-hundred-thousand dollar investment in third-party engineering workstations.”
The inevitable showdown with Google is only one of many problems besieging Uber at the moment. The company is embroiled in several controversies, the most publicized of which has been the consistent accusations of sexual assault leveled against their drivers both in the U.S. and abroad.
While there are no details available indicating when a Google transport service might be available to the public at large, the company is reportedly testing an early version with its employees. On the other hand, Google’s driverless technology is said to be two to five years away from widespread use.