Uber has launched the first commercial robotaxi service in London, beating rival Waymo to market with vehicles powered by autonomous driving technology from UK startup Wayve. The launch is a significant milestone for Uber, which has spent years developing the partnership with Wayve, and gives it the chance to shape Londoners' first experience of robotaxis while testing whether demand for driverless ridehailing exists outside the US and China. It also intensifies the rivalry between Uber and Waymo, whose diverging visions for autonomous ridehailing have fuelled speculation of a wider split between the two companies.

The Wayve vehicles, initially Ford Mustang Mach-Es with Nissan Leafs to follow, will operate with human safety drivers who monitor but do not control the car, and will be phased out over time; riders can opt in via the Uber app when booking UberX, Uber Comfort or Uber Electric journeys, though a match isn't guaranteed. Unlike Waymo, Wayve's "AV2.0" system relies on cameras and radar rather than lidar, and operates without a geofence or HD maps. Wayve, founded in Cambridge in 2017 and backed by $1.2 billion raised this year from Uber, Nvidia, Stellantis, Nissan and Mercedes-Benz, is also working with Stellantis on hands-free driving tech. Waymo has said it will launch its own London robotaxis before the end of the year, while Lyft is separately partnering with Baidu on a service starting in Brent.