Uber is backing three separate robotaxi firms instead of building its own. A fatal 2018 crash previously pushed Uber out of the self-driving business. Nuro began with delivery pods before pivoting toward passenger robotaxis. Uber’s relationship with self-driving cars started in tragedy. In early 2018, an autonomous Volvo XC90 robotaxi being tested by the company struck and killed a cyclist in Tempe, Arizona, and the ride-hailing giant promptly hit the brakes on its in-house autonomy program. In the years since, Uber has changed its approach entirely, signing deals with self-driving specialists rather than trying to build the technology itself. One of Uber’s biggest bets is on Nuro. The company was founded in mid-2016 by a pair of former Google engineers and initially focused on small autonomous delivery vehicles. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Nuro was working alongside Lucid and Uber to deploy a massive fleet of robotaxis in the US. Through this deal, Uber has reportedly invested $500 million into Nuro. Read: Uber And Lucid Robotaxi Arrives Later This Year The money came in stages. Uber first joined a $203 million funding round for Nuro in late 2025 that valued the startup at $6 billion. Nuro has since cleared several development and commercial milestones, which prompted Uber to dig deeper into its pockets, according to Reuters. That additional funding reportedly hinges on Nuro hitting its next set of targets, namely testing vehicles without a safety driver behind the wheel, beginning to carry actual passengers in its robotaxis, and expanding the service further in 2027. Vehicles operating in Nuro’s robotaxi fleet will be specially-equipped versions of the Lucid Gravity SUV. They are equipped with the Nuro Driver Level 4 autonomous driving system supported by Nvidia’s Drive AGX Thor vehicle computer. Uber isn’t putting all its autonomous eggs in one basket either. The company has separately committed $500 million to Lucid as part of that robotaxi venture, and it has pledged to invest up to $1.25 billion in Rivian through 2031 to build out yet another robotaxi fleet, this one based on the new mid-size R2 electric SUV. This fleet could ultimately include as many as 50,000 vehicles, with 10,000 expected to be deployed in the first phase starting in 2028.
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