Uber Taps Rivian To Build Robotaxis In Deal Worth Up To $1.25b

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

Uber is kicking disconnected nan business pinch an first $300 cardinal finance 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 will person nan action to bargain up to 40,000 much autonomous R2 SUVs from Rivian starting successful 2030. The 2 companies said they scheme to motorboat nan robotaxis successful “25 cities successful nan U.S., Canada, and Europe by nan extremity of 2031.” The fleet will beryllium exclusively disposable connected Uber’s network, according to nan companies.

While nan statement is perchance lucrative for Rivian, it’s brimming pinch consequence and challenges. 

Rivian hasn’t started producing nan 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 raise nan hurdle moreover higher, nan robotaxi is expected to beryllium built successful Rivian’s Georgia factory, which is still nether construction. 

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

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

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

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

As tin arsenic these features whitethorn be, they are still not considered afloat autonomous driving systems, successful which a driver is ne'er expected aliases responsible for taking complete control. 

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

Automated driving remains 1 of Rivian’s biggest attraction 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 money connected than thing else,” Scaringe said.

And he is bullish connected nan complaint of progress. 

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

Rivian is not nan first electrical conveyance startup Uber has tapped to build robotaxis. Last year, nan ride-hail elephantine said Lucid Motors would activity pinch autonomous conveyance exertion institution Nuro to make robotaxis based connected Lucid’s Gravity SUV. Those robotaxis are expected to beryllium deployed commercially by nan extremity of this twelvemonth successful San Francisco. 

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