NEW YORK: Uber Technologies Inc will be the sole app offering driverless rides in Alphabet Inc’s Waymo cars in Austin and Atlanta, a boost to the rideshare app’s ambitions in the autonomous vehicle arena.

Beginning early next year, Uber will exclusively manage and dispatch a new fleet of Waymo’s all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles, providing services including vehicle cleaning and repair, the companies said in a joint statement.

Waymo will be responsible for testing and operating Waymo Driver and will provide roadside assistance and other rider support.

The fleet size “will grow to hundreds over time”, they said.

The move deepens the two companies’ partnership, one of a string of tie-ups Uber has struck in a bid to position itself as a platform for commercialising autonomous vehicles.

It’s a departure from its past ambitious yet costly endeavours to build self-driving car technology in-house.

Shares of Uber rose 6.5% last Friday, closing at US$72.48. Alphabet shares rose 1.8% to US$157.46.

Waymo and Uber signed a strategic partnership in May last year, promising rides for the public starting in Phoenix.

Since then, Uber has announced similar collaborative efforts with General Motors Co’s Cruise LLC, which is also set to launch early next year, as well as with BYD Co.

Last month, it also announced it was making a strategic investment in SoftBank Group Corp-backed self-driving software firm Wayve Technologies Ltd.

“We expect today’s announcement to improve investor confidence that autonomous vehicles should expand Uber’s total addressable market rather than provide new competition, especially given Waymo has been considered a key threat,” said Jefferies analysts led by John Colantuoni in a note last Friday.

 - Bloomberg