Uber has shut its self-driving trucks division to focus solely on its research with autonomous cars, according to news first reported by TechCrunch.
Uber Freight, a business unit that helps truck drivers connect with shipping companies, will be unaffected by this decision.
The decision is understood to have been motivated by a desire to focus the team researching autonomous trucks onto the work going into autonomous cars. Eric Meyhofer, the head of Uber’s team developing self-driving technologies, confirmed this when he said: “We believe having our entire team’s energy and expertise focused on this effort is the best path forward.”
The tech giant faces stiff competition from Silicon Valley companies like Tesla and Waymo in the self-driving cars segment.
