Uber to invest US$1.3 billion in EV-maker Rivian as part of robotaxi deal
The ride-hailing company will initially invest US$300 million and fund the remaining amount until 2031
Published Thu, Mar 19, 2026 · 09:04 PM
[SAN FRANCISCO] Uber will invest up to US$1.3 billion in electric vehicle-maker Rivian, as part of a deal in which the ride-hailing company will start deploying 10,000 fully autonomous R2 SUVs as robotaxis from 2028, the companies said on Thursday (Mar 19).
Rivian’s shares rose about 9 per cent in premarket trading.
San Francisco-based Uber will make an initial investment of US$300 million, and will fund the remaining amount until 2031, subject to Rivian meeting certain autonomous milestones, they said.
Interest in driverless taxis has surged in recent months after years of missed promises, with artificial intelligence (AI) and tech partnerships offering hopes of solving complex traffic scenarios faster and mitigating high costs.
While Rivian, known for its high-end R1S SUVs and R1T pickups, has not launched a robotaxi yet, it unveiled its first custom computer chip for self-driving in December.
The company is also gearing up to roll out its smaller, more affordable R2 SUVs in the first quarter of 2026.
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Meanwhile, Alphabet’s Waymo, which runs about 2,500 robotaxis in several US cities, has accelerated its roll-outs.
Tesla has also launched a small robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, with chief executive officer Elon Musk promising rapid expansion in 2026.
R2 robotaxis will be available exclusively on Uber’s platform, starting with San Francisco and Miami, the companies said.
They added that Uber has the option to buy up to 40,000 more, beginning in 2030.
“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,” they said.
Uber is positioning itself as a marketplace for multiple robotaxi operators, and has partnered with much of the autonomous vehicle industry, including companies such as Waymo, Baidu and Lucid.
It is also working with Nvidia on autonomous driving, leveraging the chip designer’s AI and simulation platforms to support the development and scaling of robotaxi systems. REUTERS
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