Robot taxi deal: Uber puts hundreds of millions of dollars into Lucid and Nuro
Uber is pouring money into the robotaxi market and plans to deploy at least 20,000 Lucid SUVs equipped with Nuro's AV technology within six years.
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US ride-hailing service Uber will invest several hundred million US dollars in US electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid Motors and US robotics company Nuro with the aim of launching autonomous taxis in a major US city sometime next year. The companies announced this on Thursday.
Uber intends to deploy at least 20,000 Lucid vehicles equipped with Nuro Driver autonomous vehicle technology within six years, according to the announcement. According to the announcement, the first Lucid-Nuro robotaxi prototype is already driving autonomously on a closed circuit at Nuro's test site in Las Vegas.
As part of the announced deal, Uber will invest $300 million in electric car manufacturer Lucid alone, according to news agency Reuters, citing a separate filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday. “We are expanding beyond our traditional EV technology leadership and working on partnerships and now entering areas that we haven't really focused on in the past,” Lucid interim CEO Marc Winterhoff told Reuters.
Dynamic and growing robotaxi market
The three-way agreement is a sign of the increasing momentum in the robot taxi sector. More and more players are entering the market for autonomous taxis worldwide. In mid-June, Tesla launched its first robot taxi service in Austin, Texas, with a small number of vehicles and accompanying personnel. Alphabet subsidiary Waymo, on the other hand, is accelerating its expansion. The company recently received an operating license for the Bay Area. Waymo already offers its robot taxi service in the major US cities of Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin. The start-up's fleet currently comprises 1,500 vehicles and offers more than 250,000 paid rides per week. By 2026, 2,000 more fully autonomous vehicles are to be added to the fleet. Amazon subsidiary Zoox, on the other hand, has recently had to contend with setbacks.
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The investments in Lucid and Nuro underscore Uber's ambitions in the robotaxi sector, from which it withdrew in 2020. At that time, Uber sold its self-driving car division to Aurora Technologies, a company backed by Amazon. Uber announced that it would bring self-driving cars to the US roads in collaboration with Volkswagen starting in 2026. Uber is also working with start-up Momenta to introduce robotaxi services outside the US and China. The vehicles are scheduled to roll out in Europe from 2026.
(akn)
