Uber is expanding its role in the robotaxi industry through a new partnership with Rivian, the Irvine-based electric-vehicle maker.
Uber and Rivian announced a partnership Thursday that could bring up to 50,000 self-driving R2 vehicles to cities across the U.S., Canada and Europe by 2031.
The Rivian robotaxis would be available exclusively through Uber’s ride-hailing app.
The partnership will begin with Uber’s purchase of 10,000 fully autonomous R2s, with the option to purchase 40,000 more in 2030. Uber’s investment is subject to the achievement of autonomous performance milestones, the companies said in a news release.
Uber could invest as much as $1.25 billion in Rivian through 2031. It already has committed to spending $300 million on the effort.
The first robotaxi deployments are planned for San Francisco and Miami in 2028, followed by 23 more cities, the release said.
“We couldn’t be more excited about this partnership with Uber,” Rivian Chief Executive RJ Scaringe said in a statement. “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 R2 is Rivian’s highly anticipated lower-priced SUV, starting at $48,490 for consumers in 2027. Investors hope the more affordable model will boost sales amid declining federal support for electric vehicles.
The company impressed investors with better than expected yearly earnings last month, but has laid off hundreds of employees over the last year.
Rivian is just the latest robotaxi partnership for Uber, which has established itself as a key player in the burgeoning market of self-driving cars.
Last month, Uber announced a set of services known as Uber Autonomous Solutions to offer robotaxi ventures access to its customers, data and software.
Uber is partnering with Volkswagen to bring self-driving ID. Buzz minivans to Los Angeles this year. It’s also teamed up with Silicon Valley-based EV maker Lucid to launch robotaxis later this year and has partnered with robotaxi leader Waymo in Austin and Atlanta.
Rivian announced its third-generation autonomy platform in December, which will launch in the R2 in late 2026. It includes 11 cameras, five radars and one lidar, a laser-based radar.
Rivian robotaxis will compete against Waymo, which operates in 10 major cities, and Elon Musk’s Tesla.
Amazon-backed Zoox also is serving the public in San Francisco and Las Vegas in purpose-built, pill-shaped autonomous vehicles with no steering wheel or gas pedal.
Uber shares, which have slid around 8% this year, gave up around 2% on Thursday, closing at $75.34. Rivian shares, which have fallen 18% this year, rose nearly 4% to $16.12.
