Uber has partnered with Rivian to build robotaxis based on Rivian’s upcoming R2 SUV in a deal worth up to $1.25 billion, starting with a $300 million investment and an initial order of 10K vehicles. The fleet is planned to launch in San Francisco and Miami in 2028 and expand to 25 cities across the US, Canada, and Europe by 2031, exclusively on Uber’s network. However, it comes with significant risk: Rivian hasn’t begun R2 production yet, has no robotaxi-ready self-driving system deployed, and the planned Georgia factory is still under construction. Nevertheless, the deal adds to Uber’s already diversified portfolio of robotaxi partnerships, which includes Waymo, Lucid/Nuro, Motional, and Baidu.
Whether this bet is a good one for Uber is another question. It is the fourth in a string of deals Rivian has made before reaching profitability, with the others being $1.3 billion in equity and 100K vans for Amazon, a $5.8 billion joint venture with Volkswagen Group, and a $6.6 billion loan from the Department of Energy. The company’s existing “Universal Hands-Free” system reminds users that it “will not stop or slow down for traffic lights or stop signs”; the R&D required to go from this to true self-driving is likely to put the company in an even deeper financial hole.
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