Uber and Rivian Partner to Deploy up to 50,000 Fully Autonomous Robotaxis

Key Terms

robotaxis technical

Robotaxis are passenger vehicles that drive themselves using sensors and software, operating like a taxi without a human driver. For investors, they matter because they promise a new, potentially large revenue stream from automated ride-hailing and logistics while also carrying high costs, safety and regulatory risks, and heavy competition—similar to betting on a new public transit system that must prove it can run safely and profitably at scale.

level 4 autonomy technical

Level 4 autonomy describes a system—often in vehicles or machines—that can perform all driving or operational tasks without human input, but only within defined conditions or areas (like certain streets, speeds, or weather). Think of it like a self-driving taxi that can take you anywhere inside a city zone without a driver, but wouldn’t operate outside that zone. Investors care because reaching this level affects product adoption, regulatory approval, liability, and the competitive and revenue potential for companies developing or using the technology.

multi-modal perception platform technical

A multi-modal perception platform is a technology system that combines different kinds of inputs—like images, sound, motion sensors, and text—to form a single, clearer understanding of a situation, similar to how a person uses sight, hearing and touch together to judge their surroundings. For investors it matters because these platforms can enable more reliable products (autonomous vehicles, medical diagnostics, security), create high barriers to entry, and raise specific regulatory, privacy and deployment risks that affect revenue and valuation.

multi-modal sensor suite technical

A multi-modal sensor suite is a collection of different kinds of sensors—such as cameras, microphones, radar, LiDAR, thermal or chemical detectors—working together to capture multiple types of data about the same environment. Like how human sight, hearing and touch combine to give a fuller picture, these suites produce more accurate and reliable information than any single sensor, which matters to investors because they can enable higher-performing products, stronger safety and regulatory compliance, and clearer differentiation or risk reduction in markets.

lidar technical

Lidar, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a technology that uses laser beams to create detailed, three-dimensional maps of the environment. It works like a sophisticated eye that measures distances by bouncing light off objects, helping machines see and understand their surroundings. For investors, lidar is important because it enables advancements in autonomous vehicles, robotics, and mapping, which can drive innovation and growth in related industries.

ai compute performance technical

AI compute performance measures how fast and efficiently a company’s hardware and software can run artificial intelligence tasks, such as training models or making real-time predictions. Think of it like a car’s horsepower or a chef’s speed in a kitchen: higher performance means more work done in less time. For investors, it affects costs, product capabilities, time to market and competitive advantage, and can influence capital spending and revenue prospects.

inference platform technical

An inference platform is the software and hardware setup that runs trained artificial intelligence models to make real-time predictions or decisions from new data, like a kitchen that prepares dishes from established recipes. For investors it matters because the platform determines how fast, reliable and cost-effective those predictions are in production, which affects revenue potential, operating expenses, customer experience and regulatory or accuracy risks.

physical ai technical

Physical AI combines artificial intelligence with physical devices or environments, enabling machines to interact with and adapt to the real world in a human-like way. It matters to investors because it can lead to smarter robots, autonomous vehicles, or advanced sensors that improve efficiency and open new markets, potentially creating significant business opportunities and competitive advantages.

• Uber to invest up to $1.25 billion in Rivian through 2031, subject to the achievement of autonomous performance milestones
• Uber, or its fleet partners, expected to purchase 10,000 fully autonomous R2 robotaxis with the option to purchase up to 40,000 more in 2030
• Initial commercial deployments planned for San Francisco and Miami in 2028, scaling to 25 cities through 2031

SAN FRANCISCO & IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIVN) and Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: UBER) today announced a partnership to help accelerate both companies’ autonomous vehicle plans, expecting to deploy 10,000 fully autonomous R2 robotaxis in the first phase of R2 robotaxi deployment. Initial deployments are expected to begin in San Francisco and Miami in 2028 and will expand to 25 cities by 2031.

Uber will invest up to $1.25 billion in Rivian through 2031, subject to the achievement of certain autonomous milestones by specific dates, building towards a scaled, fully-autonomous fleet of Rivian R2 robotaxis, which will be available exclusively through the Uber platform. An initial $300 million investment has been committed to following signing, subject to regulatory approval.

Should all milestones be achieved, the companies will have deployed thousands of unsupervised Rivian R2 robotaxis across 25 cities in the US, Canada, and Europe by the end of 2031. The companies also have the option to negotiate the purchase of up to 40,000 more autonomous Rivian R2 vehicles beginning in 2030.

RJ Scaringe, Founder and CEO of Rivian said:
“We couldn’t be more excited about this partnership with Uber — it will help accelerate our path to level 4 autonomy to create one of the safest and most convenient autonomous platforms in the world. The scale of Rivian's growing data flywheel coupled with RAP1, our state of the art in-house inference platform, and our multi-modal perception platform make us incredibly excited for the rapid advancement of Rivian autonomy over the next couple of years.”

Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber said:
“We’re big believers in Rivian’s approach—designing the vehicle, compute platform, and software stack together, while maintaining end-to-end control of scaled manufacturing and supply in the U.S. That vertical integration, combined with data from their growing consumer vehicle base and experience managing the complexities of commercial fleets, gives us conviction to set these ambitious but achievable targets.”

In December 2025, Rivian announced its third-generation autonomy platform, which the company expects to be one of the most powerful combination of sensors and inference compute in a consumer vehicle in North America when launched in R2 in late 2026. Rivian’s third generation autonomy platform includes a multi-modal sensor suite including 11 cameras (65 megapixels), 5 radars and 1 LiDAR. The consumer platform is driven by two of Rivian’s in-house RAP1 chips, capable of 1600 TOPS of AI compute performance. This platform, including advanced connectivity and onboard intelligent data collection, utilizes data from all onboard sensors to power Rivian’s data flywheel with real world data from the customer fleet, including the critical 3D LiDAR point clouds essential to the rapid progression of advanced end-to-end Physical AI.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including without limitation statements regarding the timeline for and total amount of future investments by Uber, the achievement of certain milestones and regulatory approval, the timeline, total purchase, and deployment plans for fully autonomous R2 robotaxis by Uber and its fleet partners, the timeline and geographic location for initial commercial deployments and future scaling, and the expected benefits from the partnership. In some cases you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “targets,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “forecasts,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements use these words or expressions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the important factors discussed in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in Rivian’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, and its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For additional information on other potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the results predicted, please see Uber’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 and subsequent quarterly reports, annual reports and other filings filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon information available to us as of the date of this press release, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain, and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change.

About Rivian:

Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) is an American automotive technology company that develops and manufactures category-defining electric vehicles as well as vertically integrated technologies and services. Through innovation across its electrical architecture, end-to-end software, autonomous driving platform, artificial intelligence and propulsion, the company creates vehicles that excel at work and play while accelerating the global transition to zero-emission transportation and energy. Rivian vehicles are manufactured in the United States and are sold directly to consumer and commercial customers. Whether taking families on new adventures or electrifying fleets at scale, Rivian vehicles all share a common goal — preserving the natural world for generations to come.

Learn more about the company, products, and careers at www.rivian.com.

About Uber:

Uber's mission is to create opportunity through movement. We started in 2010 to solve a simple problem: how do you get access to a ride at the touch of a button? More than 72 billion trips later, we're building products to get people closer to where they want to be. By changing how people, food, and things move through cities, Uber is a platform that opens up the world to new possibilities.

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Rivian Investor Contact

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Source: Rivian Automotive, Inc.