Uber has picked San Francisco to launch a premium robotaxi service that can use Lucid Motors’ all-electric Gravity SUVs outfitted with self-driving tech developed by Nuro, in 2026 — a transfer that places the ride-hailing large in direct competitors with Waymo.
The announcement was made because the final day of TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 kicked off in San Francisco. Nuro president and co-CEO Dave Ferguson, and Uber chief product officer Sachin Kansal are scheduled to be interviewed on the Disrupt stage Wednesday afternoon.
“The Bay Space has lengthy been the birthplace of transformative know-how, and it’s solely becoming that Uber’s next-generation robotaxi program with Lucid and Nuro will start right here — launching to the general public subsequent yr,” Kansal mentioned in a press release. “By combining deep experience in electrical autos, autonomy, and ridehailing, we’re laying the groundwork for protected and scalable autonomous rides within the Bay Space and past.”
Earlier this yr, Uber mentioned it will make investments $300 million in Lucid and individually purchase “a minimum of” 20,000 of its new Gravity SUVs over the following six years as a part of a plan to develop and launch a premium robotaxi service. These EVs could be outfitted with Nuro’s autonomous car system, and owned and operated by Uber or its third-party fleet companions. On the time, the three corporations had not recognized their launch market.
The choice to launch in San Francisco may add stress to Uber’s relationship with Waymo. The businesses had squared off in 2018 in a commerce secrets and techniques theft case, however have since patched up — earlier this yr, they launched a robotaxi service in Austin and Atlanta.
Now, Uber is getting into a website dominated by the Alphabet-owned self-driving division. Waymo, primarily based in Mountain View, California, operates industrial robotaxi companies within the San Francisco Bay Space, in addition to Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. The corporate has mentioned it plans to launch in six extra cities in 2026.
Uber, Nuro and Lucid are already creating a fleet of take a look at autos. Lucid lately delivered autos to Nuro, which is integrating its self-driving system into the fleet for testing and validation. The take a look at fleet is predicted to succeed in about 100 autos, based on the businesses.
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Testing on public roads would be the most seen signal of the partnership, however Nuro additionally plans to make use of simulation and closed programs for testing.
Over the previous two years, Uber has locked in a bevy of partnerships with autonomous car know-how corporations, protecting the spectrum of how self-driving programs will be utilized to the bodily world — though its offers with Waymo, Nuro and Lucid is perhaps the meatiest. The ride-hailing large has partnered with greater than 18 corporations globally, throughout ride-hailing, supply and trucking. This yr alone, it introduced offers with Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Might Mobility and Volkswagen, in addition to Chinese language self-driving companies Momenta, WeRide and Baidu.
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