The bigger picture is that Waymo is now the most interesting company in self-driving technology. If you want to do real work that is the place to be. I hear that people are also leaving Uber's efforts. I expect them to absorb the best people in the industry and building a real business from here.

Waymo has established a multi-year technology advantage over Uber. The best objections to Waymo winning are three-fold:

1) Google doesn't have the user-facing apps - The reality is that Google has a far larger surface area than Uber to consumers. They own Calendar, Maps, Assistant, Android, Gmail and each of these can be entry points into self-driving. "I see you have an appointment in 15 minutes, want me to order you a cab?"

2) Google doesn't have experience operating a physical business - This is something they will have to learn. Google has the choice of partnering/purchasing if needed to build fleet operations companies. There are some unorthodox acquisitions to consider here (Avis?). However, Uber and Lyft do not really have this experience either.

3) Google doesn't have a great track record of incubating new businesses - Amazon has a far stronger track record than Uber of bringing up new lines of business.

With the mismanagement of Uber over the past years, Uber is at significant risk of missing the next technology wave, the way traditional taxi companies missed the last shift. Uber might be holding the equivalent of second-generation taxi medallions as the third generation takes off.