Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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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 Ubacio Darcos-Rosahi and Aisha Evans of Zoox with us. And Aisha, 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 talk to Dara. And in Las Vegas and L.A., 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. 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?
Well, we bring 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.
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Chapter 2: What is the Uber and Zoox robotaxi partnership about?
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.
Which you've experienced recently, right? Absolutely.
You went and took a ride. 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? Las Vegas, 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.
Chapter 3: What features make Zoox's robotaxi unique?
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 the Zooks. 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, Dara?
I think for us now, the focus is going to be the customer experience. We want to make sure that whether, obviously, the Zooc's direct experience is going to be best of breed, but also having the experience through Uber is going to introduce you to the the differentiated experience on Zoox as well, that's really going to be what Aisha and I are focused on.
I would say the economics take care of themselves over the long term.
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?
Well, we are certainly going to work with Zoox in terms of traffic patterns, and now Zoox is going to have access to that data directly as well. But I think the combination of the traffic patterns that we see and the customers that we see, whether local or international, along with Zoox's proprietary data, I think is going to help Zoox be even more efficient as an entity going forward.
Yeah, and I'll add to that also the experience of dealing with things or just starting to deal with large events, things that Uber knows how to do in their sleep and will essentially speed up our knowledge of doing that.
And also speed up deployment. Of course. So you've always been very careful and cautious, I think, is the wording that you've used. But is there now a sort of a different approach that working with Uber gives you to get the Zoox purpose-built vehicle? We can bring it up on the screen again. You know, it's a unique form factor in this country.
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Chapter 4: How will Uber's platform enhance Zoox's deployment?
You're actually ranked number one in alphabetical order. I checked. A lot of questions I get for you is the capital plan. You know, if you can get some more money from Amazon to accelerate your progress. Amazon's been active in the bond market this week. What can you tell us about your access to capital?
Amazon has been great. We're super happy to have them as a parent. Capital is not something I worry about. I worry about executing, delivering. Now that we're entering this commercial phase, this promise of a safer, keener, more enjoyable future on the road with our purpose-built vehicle that really gives you this delightful experience is really what we're focused on.
I don't worry about capital at all. I worry about delivering.
Uber is becoming kind of like the neutral marketplace for all kinds of AV providers, not just in the US, but globally. Have 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 app?
We talk with all the various AV providers. Tesla obviously isn't at the point now of getting to no vehicle operator, but they are testing and their technology is excellent. So we're happy to have discussions with them as well as other players. But today is about Zoox and we're here to celebrate that.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, iShaven Zoox CEO here with us in the Bloomberg Tech studio in San Francisco. The news doesn't stop on the weekends.
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