Uber will let customers hail robotaxis from Amazon’s Zoox, starting in Las Vegas this summer. Uber Technologies CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and Zoox CEO Aicha Sar Evans discuss what the partnership will offer to riders. They speak with Bloomberg's Ed Ludlow in San Francisco.
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Questions asked in this interview
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1:13What is it Dara that you think you can help Zoox do that I guess they wouldn't otherwise be able to do on their own?
7:50Have to ask therefore, have you held any talks with Tesla about convincing them to take their plan, which is a proprietary ride-hailing service, but also purpose-built vehicle to the Uber platform?
Bloomberg audio studios podcast radio news. Uber will let customers hail robo taxis from Amazon's Zoox starting in Las Vegas this summer. For more on the partnership, Bloomberg Tech's Ed Ludlow is joined by the CEOs of both companies. Ed?
Yeah, thank you Matt. We're talking about the Zoox purpose-built robo taxi. No driver controls, no steering wheel, no pedals, inward-facing seats. Starting in Vegas this summer, Los Angeles next year. And we're delighted to have Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and Aicha Evans of Zoox with us. And Aicha, I've been fortunate to spend a lot of time with you in the last year. And you've always described Zoox as vertically integrated, control the stack, own the vehicle, own the app, own the service. You're going with a partner. What's changed?
That hasn't changed. We're doing that. And I've also told you that we'd be practical about our commercial deployment. This is a big market. And so talked to Dara and in Las Vegas and LA. We're really looking forward to bringing our experience and sort of this way to ride to the Uber platform in addition to also being available.
The way to ride is interesting. You know, Uber is not a ride. It is a platform, a marketplace for increasingly different kinds of rides. What is it Dara that you think you can help Zoox do that I guess they wouldn't otherwise be able to do on their own?
What we bring is enormous distribution on a global basis. And I think that there's this narrative of it's either or, you know, either you go direct to your customer or you go through a platform. And the fact is, if you look for example on Uber Eats, you have some of the best brands in the world, whether it's a McDonald's or a Starbucks or Chipotle, having a direct interaction with customers through their own apps, but also using the platform to expand their distribution. And I see the same thing with Zoox as well. You know, Zoox is on its way to create one of the best brands in the business in transportation.
Absolutely. It's a great experience. It's a purpose-built vehicle, and to have that experience on Uber, we think will only magnify what Zoox is bringing to the marketplace.
This is small scale in the first instance, right? You know, in Las Vegas and that where you're already active and then LA. The mechanics of it are interesting, right? Because as a rider, you are not guaranteed in the first instance that you can choose a Zoox. It's algorithmic. It depends on the circumstances for you to have, I think the language you use is the opportunity to be matched with a Zoox. I guess supply in the first instance is why you've pursued that plan at first.
Yeah, but really no, because look, it's a platform. It's a global platform. It's available. You have all kinds of people who show up in Las Vegas. Some might know about Zoox. Some might not. And the ones who don't probably know about Uber. So, why not take advantage of that? That's really all it is.
This is early, but would you just explain I guess longer term what the business plan is? Is there a per ride revenue share agreement? How do you split the fare when you're able to charge a fare, Aicha?
I think for us now the focus is going to be the customer experience. We want to make sure that whether obviously the Zoox direct experience is going to be best of breed, but also having the experience through Uber is going to introduce you to the differentiated experience on Zoox as well.
Data is going to be critically important here. So, let's start I guess Dara with what data sets can Uber provide Zoox that help them with scale and data sharing that you've got in place.
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