Title: Squishmallows, dentures, and an ‘I Heart Hot Dads’ bag: Uber has found thousands of items left in robotaxis

For a decade, Uber’s annual Lost & Found Index has offered a peculiar anthropological glimpse into the habits of its passengers, and occasionally, broader societal trends. The yearly inventory of millions of misplaced belongings spans from everyday essentials like smartphones and laptops to more bizarre finds, including live fish, an ankle monitor, a toboggan, a pack of live butterflies, and a single Louboutin shoe. This year, the company is leveraging the report to address the persistent issue of lost luggage with a modern twist: robotaxis. According to the company’s Tuesday announcement, thousands of items were abandoned in autonomous vehicles on Uber’s platform over the last year. While the volume is not yet in the millions, the list includes expected items such as phones, keys, wallets, passports, and headphones, alongside eccentric finds like a set of dentures, a bag emblazoned with “I Heart Hot Dads,” and a blue cap stating “Emotional Support Human.”

Beneath the humor lies a minor but viable business opportunity: even in an era dominated by driverless vehicles, someone must retrieve the items passengers forget. Uber has cultivated dozens of partnerships with autonomous vehicle (AV) technology firms over the past few years, but its AV business truly began to gain traction in March 2025 with the launch of the “Waymo on Uber” service in Austin. Since then, the partnership has expanded to include robotaxi operations in Atlanta. Additionally, Uber has integrated other AV providers into its app within the last year, such as Motional in Las Vegas and Avride in Dallas, though these services still employ human safety operators.

The fact that Uber has recorded thousands of lost items in just twelve months provides insight into the volume of robotaxi rides completed through the app. The core takeaway is that Uber’s existing infrastructure is already capable of returning forgotten goods to their owners. The inventory of retrieved items includes a 15-pound yo-yo, a large black marble duck, a Squishmallow, and a Charli XCX poster. For riders who leave belongings in a robotaxi, the recovery process mirrors that of a standard Uber ride: users open the app, navigate to the activity tab, select the relevant trip, and reach out to customer support. From there, riders can message, chat, or call a support agent. If the item is found, passengers can choose to pay $15 for same-day local delivery via an Uber Courier driver or collect the item in person at an AV depot, where the vehicles are stored and maintained.

Uber Courier is a rebranding of Uber Connect, a service launched in 2020 that enables users to send packages and personal items between local addresses. However, Uber emphasizes that its robotaxi support network involves more than simply repurposing existing services. “With tens of millions of lost items reported on Uber each year, we’ve spent the last decade building systems that help riders quickly and seamlessly reunite with their belongings,” Amy Satrom, Uber’s global head of autonomous support, stated in a release. “As autonomous rides continue to scale on Uber, we’re bringing that same expertise to AVs — combining our fleet operations, support teams, and hybrid network to make getting a lost item back simple, even when there’s no driver behind the wheel.”

In February, the company unveiled Uber Autonomous Solutions, a new division designed to reflect its broader ambitions in driverless technology. This unit offers a comprehensive suite of services for managing the operations of robotaxis, self-driving trucks, and sidewalk delivery robots, encompassing both software and support functions. Uber intends to make AVs a significant revenue stream, planning to offer robotaxi rides via its app in up to 15 cities worldwide by year-end. Furthermore, the company has expressed its goal to become the world’s largest facilitator of AV trips by 2029.

Source: TechCrunch Generated at: 2026-06-02 23:25:20 UTC