One of Uber’s biggest investors, Google, is reportedly planning to introduce its own Uber-like ride-hailing service.
Bloomberg reported Google chief legal officer David Drummond as discussing plans for the taxi-hailing service.
Executives of the ride-hailing service have been reportedly presented with screenshots of the Google ride-sharing app which is presently used by Google employees.
The new app is expected to be brought about in conjunction with the company’s driverless car project. The move is expected to impact on Uber’s dependence on Google as the service is based on Google Maps.
Uber has also teamed up with Carnegie Mellon University for a research facility in Pittsburgh, to develop autonomous vehicle technology.
Uber said: "The partnership will provide a forum for Uber technology leaders to work closely with CMU faculty, staff, and students — both on campus and at the National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) — to do research and development, primarily in the areas of mapping and vehicle safety and autonomy technology."
According to reports, Uber might find itself alone in the rapidly expanding autonomous car market if it cut ties with Google.
The move will force the ride sharing service to introduce the technology itself, or it might have to find a new ally that might want to use the ride-hailing service within its fleet.
