Alphabet's Waymo and Volvo Make A Deal To Develop Robotaxis

Alphabet Inc GOOGL GOOG subsidiary Waymo and Volvo Cars Group announced an exclusive strategic partnership Thursday to integrate Waymo Driver, a fully self-driving technology, into a new electric vehicle to be used for ride-hailing. 

What Happened

The two companies said that they would “first work together” on a self-driving car for ride-hailing use.

Adam Frost, the chief automotive officer for Waymo, said, “This key partnership with Volvo Car Group helps pave the path to the deployment of the Waymo Driver globally in years to come, and represents an important milestone in the highly competitive autonomous vehicle industry.”

Why It Matters

The status of their newly formed partnership and what it entails has not yet been disclosed. TechCrunch notes that Waymo and Volvo may be in the process of co-developing or sharing technologically sensitive information. 

The publication also said that the partnership could include a possible licensing deal as Waymo’s strategy to this point has been to partner with automakers.

The Alphabet subsidiary already has an agreement with Renault SA RNLSY and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd NSANY to work on driverless mobility services in France and Japan.

There is also a partnership between Waymo and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. FCAU to place its self-driving system in Pacifica minivans. 

Volvo separately also has a four-year deal with Uber Inc UBER under which it supplies the ride-hailing company with a special XC90 vehicle whose hardware is capable of autonomous driving.

Price Action

Alphabet class A shares traded 0.27% higher at $1,445 on Thursday in the after-hours session. The shares had closed the regular session 0.59% higher at $1,441.10. The company’s class C closed 0.65% higher at $1,441.33.

Image by Waymo