Zoox plans to put its robot on the Uber app in Vegas this year

Amazon-owned Zoox plans to make its Uber-hailing robotaxi available in Las Vegas later this year, the companies announced Wednesday.

Before that can happen, Zoox still needs federal government approval to commercially deploy its robotaxis, which have no steering wheel or pedals. This requires exceptions to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). On Wednesday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) began taking public comments on Zoox’s request for these waivers. (Zoox currently has an exemption that allows custom-built bots to operate as a demonstration, rather than commercially.)

If Zoox gets approval, the company plans to launch its commercial robot service first, and before making the vehicles available on Uber in Las Vegas, TechCrunch said. Zoox currently offers free rides in Las Vegas and San Francisco. It is also mapping and strengthening its presence in eight other US cities, including Dallas and Phoenix, which was announced earlier this week.

Zoox and Uber described the partnership as a “multi-year strategic partnership” that includes plans to launch in Los Angeles in 2027.

This is Zoox’s first external partnership with a platform like Uber. But it’s certainly not Uber’s first partnership with a self-driving car company. Uber has partnerships with more than 25 different self-driving car companies around the world. Its most notable deal is with Waymo, which is making its robotaxis available on the Uber platform in Austin and Atlanta. Uber also entered into a partnership with the Chinese company Baidu and announced that it would begin testing these self-driving cars in London this year. The ride-hailing giant has AV partnerships with Volkswagen, MyMobility, and PonyAI as well.

Uber is also building new offerings for these robotaxi partners. In January, TechCrunch revealed that the company was starting to create an “AV Labs” division dedicated to collecting real-world driving data to enhance its partners’ self-driving systems. Last month, Uber announced it had created a division called Uber Autonomous Solutions that can provide operating, software and support services.

Zoox is seeking exemptions from eight FMVSS standards, including standards that require a vehicle to have windshield defroster systems and windshield wipers. NHTSA will take public comments for 30 days, but it’s not clear when the federal safety agency will issue a ruling.

At a hearing on self-driving vehicle safety held Tuesday, NHTSA Chairman Jonathan Morrison appeared eager to move forward with a clearer regulatory scheme for self-driving cars.

“We believe it is time to move beyond the hype and finally do the serious political work necessary to provide appropriate and robust oversight of this sector while removing the unnecessary and unintended barriers to innovation that currently exist,” he said. “This will not be easy, but I firmly believe it is within our reach, and we at NHTSA are moving with a great sense of urgency to get it done.”