Uber said it would make an initial $300 million (£223m) investment in electric vehicle maker Rivian, as part of a broader partnership between the two companies around autonomous vehicles and robotaxis.
The initial investment is expected soon, after the deal has been formally signed, and is subject to regulatory approval, the companies said.
Four other investment tranches through 2031, totalling up to $1.25bn, may take place subject to Rivian hitting milestones for its autonomous driving technology, Rivian said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.
Autonomous plans
Uber is expected to pay certain licensing fees in connection with its use of Rivian’s autonomous driving software, the filing said.
The two companies said Uber or its fleet partners planned to buy 10,000 autonomous versions of Rivian’s upcoming R2 electric vehicle, with the option to buy up to 40,000 more autonomous vehicles beginning in 2030.
Rivian expects to begin selling the R2 this spring.
The companies announced ambitious robotaxi plans in multiple countries, beginning with the deployment of R2 robotaxis available exclusively through Uber’s app in San Francisco and Miami in 2028.
They are planning roll-outs in a further 23 cities in the US, Canada and Europe.
Investment boost
German automaker Volkswagen previously invested $5.8bn in Rivian in late 2024 to use Rivian’s technology to speed up the development of Volkswagen’s own electric vehicles.
Uber has made deals with Rivian competitor Lucid, Amazon’s Zoox, automaker Stellantis, and Nvidia around autonomous vehicles, and is working with Waymo to offer autonomous rides in secondary US markets including Phoenix and Atlanta, as well as China’s Baidu in the UK, Asia and the Middle East.
Some of those partners, including Waymo and Zoox, also offer their autonomous services through their own apps as well as Uber’s.
