The Demand Aggregator Trap

This week on Autonomy Signals presented by KPMG, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss Uber fully exiting its equity position in Serve Robotics as the delivery partnership ends, CaoCao launching robotaxi operations in Hangzhou, and Boeing offloading Wisk, SkyGrid and Insitu to Archer Aviation in a deal that trades equity for cash flow.

Uber recently liquidated its entire remaining stake in Serve Robotics, as Serve announced on their Q2 2026 earnings call that the company will not be renewing its delivery partnership when the contract expires in 2027, exposing the pitfalls of being reliant on a demand aggregation platform.

While Uber and Serve prepare to part ways, CaoCao launched public road testing without a safety driver in Hangzhou’s Binjiang District with a fleet of roughly 100 vehicles, backed by parent Geely’s manufacturing might and a purpose-built EvaCab robotaxi with a sub $35,000 BOM cost targeting 100,000 units by 2030.

As China’s robotaxi industry grows, Boeing exited autonomy by selling Wisk, SkyGrid and Insitu to Archer Aviation for a 19.75% equity stake, immediately re-anchoring Archer’s valuation on defense cash flow rather than eVTOL speculation while pushing autonomous certification down the line.

Episode Chapters

• 0:00 KPMG Sponsor Introduction
• 01:32 Signal 1: Uber and Serve Robotics Get Divorced
• 31:40 Signal 2: CaoCao Vertically Integrates Robotaxis
• 1:00:10 Signal 3: Boeing Exits Autonomy with Archer Aviation Deal

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