Uber aims to deploy 20,000 or more Lucid vehicles equipped with the Nuro Driver over six years in dozens of markets around the world. | Source: Nuro
Lucid Group, Nuro, and Uber this week partnered on a global robotaxi program that will available exclusively on the Uber app. The companies said they plan to launch their first robotaxi service later next year in a major U.S. city.
“Autonomous vehicles have enormous potential to transform our cities for the better,” said Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. “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.”
Uber aims to deploy 20,000 of Lucid’s new electric Gravity SUV equipped with the Nuro Driver over six years. The vehicles will be owned and operated by Uber or its third-party fleet partners. The first robotaxi prototype is already operating autonomously on a closed circuit at Nuro’s Las Vegas proving grounds.
Uber plans to invest several hundred million dollars into both Nuro and Lucid as part of the agreement.
Uber continues to play in the robotaxi space by partnering with third-party developers. It currently has 18 autonomous vehicle partners. It once had its own autonomous vehicle division, but that effort ended after a high-profile fatal accident in 2018. Uber eventually sold the unit to Aurora in 2018. Uber’s current strategy allows it to stay active in the space, reduce technical risk, and potentially capitalize on its massive user base as autonomous driving technology matures.
Nuro raised $106 million in its ongoing Series E round in April 2025, which raised its valuation to $6 billion. The company offers two flagship products to automotive manufacturers, suppliers, and mobility companies: the SAE Level 4 Nuro Driver and Level 2++ Nuro Driver Assist. It said each combines automotive-grade hardware with self-driving software.
Robotaxi race heating up
This new partnership comes at an interesting time in the robotaxi race. Both Tesla and Waymo this week expanded their service areas in Austin, where Waymo offers its services via Uber. Waymo, the leader in the robotaxi industry, has increased its service area in Austin from 37 sq. mi. (95.8 sq. km) to 90 sq. mi. (233 sq. km).
Waymo has robotaxis running fully autonomously in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin currently. It recently surpassed 100 million fully autonomous miles without a human driver behind the wheel. Waymo was named the 2025 Robot of the Year by The Robot Report.
Tesla launched its first robotaxi service in Austin in June. In Austin, the service is running using a small fleet of Tesla Model Y vehicles. It is only open to a select group of investors and influencers via invitation. So far, Tesla’s robotaxis are only operating with a safety monitor in the passenger seat. Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced this week that the company would be expanding its Austin service area.
So far, Nuro hasn’t announced any plans to deploy a robotaxi service in Austin. Instead, the company is focusing on building operations in Mountain View, Calif., and Houston. Nuro also recently announced plans to bring its test fleet of autonomous vehicles to Japan.
