Uber—Rivian robotaxi deal
Uber announced an up to $1.25 billion partnership with Rivian to deploy fully autonomous R2 robotaxis—starting with 10,000 vehicles and aiming for 50,000 across up to 25 cities by 2031, with initial deployments in San Francisco and Miami. The move marks Uber's return to operating its own robotaxi fleet as AV companies scale OEM partnerships and fleet plans. (reuters.com)
Uber’s filing-level announcement commits an initial $300 million investment in Rivian to be made after signing, with additional capital contingent on meeting specified autonomous-performance milestones and regulatory approval. (investor.uber.com) Rivian said the R2 will run its third‑generation autonomy stack unveiled in December 2025, built around an in‑house inference platform the company calls RAP1 and a multi‑modal perception architecture. (investor.uber.com) The company disclosed the R2’s sensor package as 11 cameras totaling 65 megapixels, five radar units and a single LiDAR sensor in its technical description. (investor.uber.com) The joint statement says rides in R2 robotaxis will be offered exclusively through Uber’s platform across the U.S., Canada and Europe under the terms announced. (investor.uber.com) Rivian signaled an R2 production launch in late 2026 and the agreement contains an option to negotiate the purchase of up to 40,000 additional R2 vehicles beginning in 2030. (investor.uber.com) Market reaction was immediate: Rivian shares jumped roughly 8–9% in premarket trading following the announcement, according to market reports. (bloomberg.com) Uber previously exited in‑house autonomy in a 2020 deal that sold its Advanced Technologies Group to Aurora and included a $400 million investment by Uber into the acquirer, underscoring this partnership model as the company’s current approach to robotaxi scale‑up. (ir.aurora.tech)
