Uber Expands Beyond Ride-Hailing and Delivery

Uber has been quietly pushing beyond its core businesses of ride-hailing and delivery, with a range of new features and services rolling out to users. From hotel bookings powered by Expedia to "shop for me" concierge features and boat rentals in Europe, the company is looking to become a one-stop-shop for its users.

**The Rise of the 'Everything App'

The concept of the 'everything app' has been popularized by Asian super-apps like Grab, which offer a range of services from ride-hailing to food delivery to mobile payments. While Uber's product chief, Sachin Kansal, is hesitant to use the term, the company is certainly moving in a similar direction.

"We're not trying to be everything to everyone," Kansal says. "But we do want to provide our users with as much value as possible."

**Financial Services and AI

One area where Uber is looking to provide more value to its users is in financial services. The company has already rolled out a debit card for drivers, and is experimenting with other products for merchants and consumers.

"We're not sure if we'll offer our own buy now, pay later product," Kansal says. "But we're happy to partner with others in the industry who are already providing that service."*

"We want to make sure that the experts do what the experts do," Kansal says.

**AI and the Future of Uber

Artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly important role in Uber's services, from earner assistants that help drivers make more money to grocery cart assistants that make it easier to order food.

"AI is going to be a huge enabler of our goal to provide a fully agentic Uber experience," Kansal says. "Where users can plan and book their whole trip, without having to think about the complexity of it all."*

• Uber's product chief, Sachin Kansal, on the company's financial-services ambitions: "Financial services for us cuts across multiple different entities — consumers, but also drivers and couriers, and merchants."*

• On the company's relationship with Waymo: "We are not in the race to be an L4 autonomy provider — what we are focusing on is laying down the race tracks so we can work with multiple players."*

• On the role of AI in Uber's services: "AI is going to be a huge enabler of our goal to provide a fully agentic Uber experience."*

"I go out and drive and deliver myself, just to see our product from the other side firsthand," Kansal says.