Uber, Nuro, and PIF-backed electric car maker Lucid are developing a new premium global robotaxi program, designed exclusively for Uber’s ride-hailing platform. This next-generation service is anticipated to begin operations in a major U.S. city in 2026, according to a statement from Lucid Motors.
The new robotaxi combines three core elements: the software-defined vehicle architecture of the Lucid Gravity, the scalability and capability of the Nuro Driver Level 4 autonomy system, and Uber’s extensive global network and dynamic fleet management. The companies state that this collaboration will deliver a fully integrated robotaxi experience built for comfort, safety, and scale.
Uber intends to deploy 20,000 or more Lucid vehicles equipped with the Nuro Driver over a six-year period. These vehicles will be owned and operated by either Uber or its third-party fleet partners and will be made available to riders exclusively through the Uber platform. A prototype of the Lucid-Nuro robotaxi is already operating autonomously on a closed circuit at Nuro’s proving grounds in Las Vegas.
Multi-hundred-million-dollar investments
As part of a deeper collaboration with each partner, Uber plans to make multi-hundred-million-dollar investments in both Nuro and Lucid. Reports suggest this figure exceeds $300 million for California-based Lucid, formerly known as Atieva.
“Autonomous vehicles have enormous potential to transform our cities for the better,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber. “We’re thrilled to partner with Nuro and Lucid on this new robotaxi program, purpose-built just for the Uber platform, to safely bring the magic of autonomous driving to more people across the world.”
“This investment from Uber further validates Lucid’s fully redundant zonal architecture and highly capable platform as ideal for autonomous vehicles, and our industry-leading range and spacious well-appointed interiors, as ideal for ridesharing,” said Marc Winterhoff, Interim CEO at Lucid. “This is the start of our path to extend our innovation and technology leadership into this multi-trillion-dollar market.”
“We believe this partnership will demonstrate what’s possible when proven AV technology meets real-world scale,” said Jiajun Zhu, Co-Founder and CEO at Nuro. “Nuro has spent nearly a decade building an AI-first autonomy system that’s safe, scalable, and vehicle-agnostic, proven through five years of driverless deployments across multiple U.S. cities and states. By combining our self-driving technology with Lucid’s advanced vehicle architecture and Uber’s global platform, we’re proud to enable a robotaxi service designed to reach millions of people around the world.”
Uber’s expanding autonomous partnerships
In May 2024, Uber Technologies announced a collaboration with self-driving technology startup May Mobility to deploy thousands of autonomous vehicles on its ride-hailing platform across various U.S. cities, with service set to begin in Arlington, Texas, by late 2025. The ride-sharing market leader also expanded its partnership with Alphabet’s Waymo last year and signed new deals with China’s WeRide and Avride to reinforce its position in the rapidly growing segment.
Meanwhile, Tesla revealed its Cybercab robotaxi concept in October, with production scheduled for 2026 and service expected to launch in Austin, Texas, this year.
The U.S. federal government is facilitating the deployment of autonomous vehicles by expanding exemptions from certain safety requirements while still requiring mandatory incident reporting.
Initially, May Mobility’s robotaxis will operate with safety drivers before they transition to fully autonomous operations. The startup, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has raised more than $380 million from investors, including Toyota and BMW. Under the partnership, May Mobility will operate U.S.-made gasoline-electric hybrid Toyota Sienna minivans, the companies confirmed. Last year, May Mobility announced a similar collaboration with Lyft to deploy self-driving taxis in Atlanta, Georgia, beginning this year.
