# Uber Doubles Down on Autonomous Partnerships, Adds Chinese Startup Momenta to Its Roster

## Uber Doubles Down on Autonomous Partnerships, Adds Chinese Startup Momenta to Its Roster

Uber is continuing its strategy of partnering with autonomous vehicle (AV) companies rather than building its own self-driving technology in-house. On Friday, the ride-hailing giant announced a new strategic agreement with Momenta, a Chinese autonomous driving startup, marking yet another addition to its growing list of AV collaborators.

This announcement comes hot on the heels of Uber’s partnership with Ann Arbor-based May Mobility, revealed just a day prior. The company’s expanding network of AV partners already includes industry heavyweights like Waymo, Volkswagen, and WeRide, along with UK-based Wayve.

According to the announcement, Uber plans to integrate Momenta’s robotaxis into its app, with initial deployments slated for Europe in early 2026. These early deployments will include safety operators onboard to oversee the autonomous systems.

Momenta CEO Xudong Cao hailed the partnership, stating it “completes the key ecosystem needed to scale autonomous driving globally.” This collaboration provides Momenta with a massive platform to deploy and test its technology, while Uber gains access to cutting-edge autonomous driving solutions without the significant investment required to develop them independently.

Uber’s flurry of partnerships extends beyond ride-hailing, encompassing trucking and delivery services as well. This aggressive strategy comes as potential competition looms from Tesla, which is gearing up to launch its own robotaxi service in Austin this summer. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has long promised that a future software update will transform all Tesla vehicles into fully self-driving cars suitable for ride-hailing.

It’s worth remembering that Uber previously had its own autonomous driving unit, Uber ATG. However, the company made the strategic decision to sell the division to Aurora Innovation back in 2020. This shift in strategy highlights Uber’s current focus on leveraging its existing ride-hailing and delivery network, while relying on specialized partners to provide the complex and rapidly evolving self-driving technology. Whether this partnership-centric approach will prove successful in the long run remains to be seen, especially with the entrance of competitors like Tesla into the autonomous ride-hailing market.