Uber Technologies IncUber expands into travel (hotels, boat rentals, concierge) and autonomous vehicle data services, driving demand for its platform.
Uber Chief Product Officer Sachin Kansal outlined the company’s expansion into travel, its evolving autonomous-vehicle strategy, and its selective approach to financial services in an interview with TechCrunch. Uber recently added hotel bookings through a partnership with Expedia, along with boat rentals in Europe and a “shop for me” concierge feature, framing travel as the third pillar after rides and delivery. On the autonomy front, Kansal confirmed that Uber and Waymo mutually ended a small-scale pilot in Phoenix while scaling to hundreds of cars in Austin and Atlanta, and he detailed a new AV Labs unit that will equip hundreds of sensor-laden vehicles to collect millions of miles of driving data for autonomy partners. He also said Uber is selling data-labeling services to generative-AI companies through its earner base, though he stressed that no in-ride conversations are recorded. Kansal noted that Uber Eats is now independently profitable, that the Uber One membership program has 51 million members and drives cross-usage between mobility and delivery, and that the company is not trying to be “everything for everyone,” preferring to partner with experts for services like buy-now-pay-later.
Uber Technologies IncUber expands into travel (hotels, boat rentals, concierge) and autonomous vehicle data services, driving demand for its platform.
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Expedia Group Inc.Uber added hotel bookings through a partnership with Expedia, driving demand for Expedia's platform.