Uber to create artificial intelligence lab

Ride-sharing company Uber intends to use artificial intelligence as part of its business after acquiring research start-up Geometric Intelligence.

Uber AI Labs will produce "cutting-edge" artificial intelligence research and machine learning, the company said. 

Route optimisation, computing arrival times of vehicles and deliveries, and matching riders for car pooling are some of the intelligence problems Uber AI Labs will consider.

Geometric Intelligence is a start-up comprising computer science and machine learning scientists, based in New York City.

Fifteen staffers including founder and chief executive Gary Marcus, a professor of psychology and neural science at New York University, will form the core of the Uber AI Labs.

Uber did not disclose how much it paid for Geometric Intelligence.

Billing itself as a digital platform rather than a transportation company, Uber has been criticised by privacy lobby groups for routinely collecting driver and rider data. It is facing legal action in Europe over alleged privacy breaches.