Uber taps Rivian to build robotaxis in deal worth up to $1.25B

Rivian said connected Thursday that it is partnering with Uber to physique thousands of robotaxis based connected its upcoming R2 SUV. The woody could beryllium worthy up to $1.25 cardinal for the EV maker. 

Uber is kicking disconnected the concern with an archetypal $300 cardinal concern successful Rivian, and is “expected to acquisition 10,000 afloat autonomous R2 robotaxis” up of a planned rollout successful San Francisco and Miami successful 2028.

Uber volition person the enactment to bargain up to 40,000 much autonomous R2 SUVs from Rivian starting successful 2030. The 2 companies said they program to motorboat the robotaxis successful “25 cities successful the U.S., Canada, and Europe by the extremity of 2031.” The fleet volition beryllium exclusively disposable connected Uber’s network, according to the companies.

While the statement is perchance lucrative for Rivian, it’s brimming with hazard and challenges. 

Rivian hasn’t started producing the R2 SUV yet; it has said manufacturing is expected to statesman by June. Nor has it tested and deployed a self-driving strategy designed for robotaxis. To rise the hurdle adjacent higher, the robotaxi is expected to beryllium built successful Rivian’s Georgia factory, which is inactive nether construction. 

Those obstacles don’t look to person softened Rivian’s resoluteness oregon the determination of its laminitis and CEO, RJ Scaringe, who has made automated driving exertion a apical precedence for the company. He adjacent hinted during the company’s inaugural “Autonomy & AI Day” successful December that this enactment enables the startup to “pursue opportunities successful the ride-share space.” 

Indeed, Scaringe was down the company’s 2021 determination to ditch its erstwhile rules-based model for operator assistance successful favour of an AI-first strategy that uses ample connection models to bid the strategy however to comprehend and navigate the world. This automated driving strategy is designed to larn from fleet information and go progressively autonomous.

The result, called the Rivian Autonomy Platform, debuted successful 2024 successful the automaker’s second-generation R1 vehicles. It’s the instauration of Rivian’s program to ratchet up capableness implicit clip from hands-free driving connected definite highways to a point-to-point navigation feature, expected precocious this year, that volition purpose to automate driving controls during full drives.

Ultimately, Rivian wants to connection a hands-off, eyes-off strategy via a hardware upgrade, including the summation of a lidar sensor and an “autonomy computer” that tin process 5 cardinal pixels per second. This upgraded hardware volition motorboat successful a mentation of the R2 SUV successful precocious 2026.

As susceptible arsenic these features whitethorn be, they are inactive not considered afloat autonomous driving systems, successful which a operator is ne'er expected oregon liable for taking implicit control. 

The startup is keen to yet connection that level of automated driving, however. At the company’s autonomy day, it laid retired plans for what it calls “personal L4,” a motion to the level acceptable by the Society of Automotive Engineers astatine which an autonomous conveyance tin run successful a peculiar country with nary quality intervention.

Automated driving remains 1 of Rivian’s biggest absorption areas, Scaringe said onstage astatine SXSW 2026 past week.  “Our way to get to hands-off, eyes-off successful 2027 is thing we’re spending much wealth connected than thing else,” Scaringe said.

And helium is bullish connected the complaint of progress. 

“If you were to look astatine the advancement successful autonomy successful the past 5 years and effort to usage it arsenic a unsmooth metric oregon gauge to foretell the adjacent 5 years, you would beryllium wildly wrong. The complaint of advancement is truthful overmuch antithetic than looking guardant 5 years than looking backwards 5 years. The past, successful this case, is not a bully predictor of the future.” 

Rivian is not the archetypal electrical conveyance startup Uber has tapped to physique robotaxis. Last year, the ride-hail elephantine said Lucid Motors would enactment with autonomous conveyance exertion institution Nuro to marque robotaxis based connected Lucid’s Gravity SUV. Those robotaxis are expected to beryllium deployed commercially by the extremity of this twelvemonth successful San Francisco. 

Uber has partnered up with much than 25 dedicated robotaxi oregon autonomous conveyance companies astir the world. Its astir notable concern to day is with Waymo, which involves the Alphabet-owned company’s robotaxis operating connected Uber’s app successful Austin and Atlanta. Uber besides has deals with Motional, Baidu, and is simply a major capitalist successful U.K. startup Wayve.