Uber has recently announced it is opening a facility in Detroit in order to collaborate with suppliers and automakers in the region. This news comes not long after Uber began launching its automated driving project in the nearby Pittsburgh area, a considerable distance from its home base of San Francisco. However, targeting these two cities is a part of a far more ambitious plan by Uber.

In August, Uber began to roll out its self driving vehicles in the city of Pittsburgh, making it the first market they chose to test this new technology. According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Uber said it chose Pittsburgh for its research and development center partly because the city is home to Carnegie Mellon University, one of the top centers of autonomous-driving technology, creating a pool of talent for the company to tap. 

 Being so close to this sort of talent gives Uber a competitive advantage against the likes of Google (GOOGL  ) and Tesla (TSLA  ), who have also been in the works of autonomous-driving technology. Uber is able to acquire the talent necessary to make it a leading brand in the autonomous-driving technology. 

According to the WSJ, Uber has no interest in the car making business or creating hardware, instead Uber wants to work with the existing supply chain to develop its future plans with light-vehicle transportation.  Detroit has proven over decades to be the auto industry capital of America, where several leading auto makers call the city home. Opening a facility in the area by Uber allows it "to boost collaboration with conventional car companies" as mentioned by a top executive.

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Uber also tied up a joint development deal with Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd.'s Volvo Car Corp. over the summer under which the two companies will collaborate on autonomous technology, with Volvo (STO: VOLV-B) developing the self driving cars. Having the ability to be near these strategic alliances will prove necessary for success in the company in the near future, especially as more of its competitors move into the area.

The link between Detroit and Silicon Valley has expanded as more companies look to accelerate their research into self driving cars. Uber's close competitor Google has recently opened an office in the Detroit area, along with NVIDIA, a computer processor manufacturer, who has software engineers embedded at automakers. Uber doesn't intend to make cars itself, so it needs automotive allies and their capabilities in order to develop and modify their fleet of cars.

Uber is optimistic that these cities will provide it with the necessary resources in order to be successful in the autonomous driving technology. Both Pittsburgh and Detroit have thus far welcomed the ride hailing company and hope there cities will become innovative hubs for future companies.