Bill Gates thinks Uber has the best shot at dominating the autonomous vehicle industry. I’ve become little obsessed with exponentially accelerating technology of late. I spent a week at Singularity University, fully indoctrinated into the cult of inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil.

As long as Uber is around, flush with cash and hugely ambitious, autonomous vehicles will continue their doubling trend, ultimately becoming better than driver vehicles and much less expensive.

Uber is pretty much eating the world right now. It has more money than everybody else, more lobbyists than everybody else, more naked ambition than everybody else.

Once Uber gets access to self-driving cars, it has eliminated almost all of its labor costs. It has raised $5.5 billion, is worth somewhere between $40 and $50 billion. And the company  has proven itself willing to throw those resources at anything standing in its way, whether that’s regulation, market barriers, or technological limitations.

Last year, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick publicly imagined a future in which his drivers are replaced with robots. Uber poached 40 driverless car researchers and scientists from Carnegie Mellon University to populate its new tech center.

related viewing about Uber:

Uber | From before the start of your trip until after it’s finished, safety is built into the Uber experience. See why some riders choose Uber.

Uber | In April 2013 Uber celebrated our 100th city launch worldwide. Here’s a quick look at our journey so far.

The Times of India | Uber’s driverless taxis one step closer to reality. In a very short space of time, self-driving cars seem to have gone from far off science fiction concepts to actual vehicles driving around our highways and byways. Uber is the latest company to throw its hat into the ring.

The firm has recently opened an Advanced Technologies Centre at Carnegie Mellon University, so Pittsburgh residents can expect to see a lot more of these automobiles cruising around town in the near future.

Uber | As we embark on a partnership with UN Women, Uber is pledging to create 1,000,000 jobs for women globally on the Uber platform by 2020. Over the next 5 years, we’ll work in countries around the world to deliver access to flexible, equitable earning opportunities. One small step toward achieving UN Women’s mission for women’s empowerment.

Uber | main
Uber | safety
Uber | YouTube channel

Uber | UN Women plus Uber, a vision for equality
Uber | Making our roads safer for everyone

Popular Science | The war over your future driverless car service has begun
The Guardian | Are driverless cars the future of Uber