The self-driving race is shifting into high gear, and Uber just added more horsepower. In a new multi-year partnership, Uber and autonomous vehicle (AV) company May Mobility will begin rolling out driverless rides in Arlington, Texas by the end of 2025with thousands more vehicles planned across the U.S. in the coming years.

Uber has already taken serious steps towards making autonomous ride-hailing a mainstream option. The company already works with Waymo, whose robotaxis are live in multiple cities, and now its welcoming May Mobilitys hybrid-electric Toyota Sienna vans to its platform. The vehicles will launch with safety drivers at first but are expected to go fully autonomous as deployments mature.

Recommended Videos May Mobility isnt new to this game. Backed by Toyota, BMW, and other major players, its been running AV services in geofenced areas since 2021. Its AI-powered Multi-Policy Decision Making (MPDM) tech allows it to react quickly and safely to unpredictable real-world conditionssomething thats helped it earn trust in city partnerships across the U.S. and Japan.

Related This expansion into ride-hailing is part of a broader industry trend. Waymo, widely seen as the current AV frontrunner, continues scaling its service in cities like Phoenix and Austin. Tesla, meanwhile, is preparing to launch its first robotaxis in Austin this June, with a small fleet of Model Ys powered by its camera-based Full Self-Driving (FSD) system. While Tesla aims for affordability and scale, Waymo and May are focused on safety-first deployments using sensor-rich systems, including lidara tech stack regulators have so far favored.

Beyond ride-hailing, the idea of personally owned self-driving cars is also gaining traction. Waymo and Toyota recently announced theyre exploring how to bring full autonomy to private vehicles, a move that could eventually bring robotaxi tech right into your garage.

With big names like Uber, Tesla, Waymo, and now May Mobility in the mix, the ride-hailing industry is evolving fastand the road ahead looks increasingly driver-optional.

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