Uber is building an Advanced Technologies Center in Pittsburgh, Pa., in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University that will research and develop mapping and vehicle safety and autonomy technology, the company announced Monday.
Before the announcement, TechCrunch, citing sources with knowledge of the plans, reported that the center was meant to “kickstart autonomous taxi fleet development."
"The center will focus on the development of key long-term technologies that advance Uber’s mission of bringing safe, reliable transportation to everyone, everywhere," the company writes in its blog post.
Uber, which raised more than $4 billion since its 2010 launch, has reportedly already made a "multi-hundred-thousand dollar investment in third-party engineering workstations," according to TechCrunch.
CEO Travis Kalanick has said he would gladly replace Uber drivers with self-driving cars because it would make rides cheaper for customers.
