Check Your Rearview, Google. Uber Is Getting Into Self-Driving Cars, Too. Competition is heating up between the two unlikely players.
By Jason Fell
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There's a road race going on between two unlikely competitors: Google and Uber. And it's heating up.
Google is said to be developing an app-based ride sharing service, more or less just like Uber, according to Bloomberg.com. The difference is that Google might be developing the service in conjunction with its self-driving car project.
Meanwhile, Uber announced that it has partnered with Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University to create the Uber Advanced Technologies Center. The goal is to develop automobile technologies such as self-driving cars.
Take that, Google.
Related: Google Reportedly Preparing to Launch Ride-Hailing Service
While competition is arguably the lifeblood of business, what's interesting about this matchup is that Google's investment arm, Google Ventures, dropped $258 million on Uber in 2013, and more the following year.
Some thought Google might have wanted to acquire Uber. Instead, it looks like the two companies are "going to war," as Bloomberg described it.
For Uber drivers -- whose pay has been a hot topic -- an unmanned taxi service replacing human jobs is sure to signal some unrest. Sometimes innovation is the stiffest competition.
Related: These Are the Best Cities for Uber and Lyft Drivers (Infographic)
