Waymo and Uber end pilot partnership in Phoenix

CNBC's MacKenzie Sigalos reports that Waymo and Uber have ended their three-year pilot partnership in Phoenix, with Waymo leaning into its direct-to-consumer app and Uber scrambling to build an autonomous vehicle strategy through multiple partnerships and fleet ownership, highlighting diverging fortunes for Uber and Alphabet. - Waymo ends three-year Uber partnership in Phoenix; remains operational via own app. - Waymo positions itself as the leading AV player, running a national ad campaign during World Cup coverage. - Uber stock down 22% in the past year as it plays catch-up in the AV race. - Uber pivots to an asset-heavy model with orders for up to 50,000 Rivian and 35,000 Lucid vehicles. - Waymo’s private valuation roughly $126 billion, on par with Uber’s market cap. - Waymo scaling fleet with Hyundai Ioniq 5 and a low-cost Chinese chassis to diversify and undercut on price. - Alphabet’s deep balance sheet allows Waymo to subsidize growth and maintain AV leadership. - The developments are bearish for Uber and bullish for Alphabet’s Waymo segment.