An autonomous robotaxi from Uber’s partnership with Lucid and autonomous vehicle startup, Nuro.
Courtesy: Nick Twork | Lucid
Uber on Thursday announced a partnership to deploy more than 20,000 robotaxis over the next six years as demand for driverless cars kicks into high gear.
As part of the partnership, the ride-hailing company is teaming up with Lucid, the electric vehicle maker, and Nuro, an autonomous vehicle startup. Under the agreement, Uber will invest $300 million in Lucid. Nuro will develop the self-driving technology that Lucid will use to supply Uber with robotaxis over the course of the deal and receive a multi-hundred-million-dollar investment.
Lucid stock popped 36% Thursday. Uber shares were flat.
The companies plan to launch the robotaxis in a major U.S. urban hub next year.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Nuro and Lucid on this new robotaxi program, purpose-built just for the Uber platform, to safely bring the magic of autonomous driving to more people across the world,” said Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi in a statement.
In an interview with CNBC, Lucid interim CEO Marc Winterhoff called the partnership an opportunity for the EV maker to compete in a “completely new” addressable market it has yet to penetrate.
Nuro, which is backed by Google and the SoftBank Vision Fund, will provide “level 4 self-driving system” software for the cars. The technology can drive passengers under normal traffic and weather conditions without a human behind the wheel.
The partnership with Lucid and Nuro follows Uber’s alliance with Alphabet-backed Waymo. The two companies expanded their service to Atlanta and Austin, Texas, earlier this year.
Waymo’s vehicles are also considered Level 4, as defined by SAE Levels of Driving Automation. Tesla sells cars today equipped with Autopilot and FSD Supervised systems that fall into the level 2 category, requiring a human at the wheel. Elon Musk’s EV company debuted a robotaxi pilot test in Austin in June.
Lucid said the 450-mile range for its Gravity vehicles should help cut costs and charge times while improving accessibility. Winterhoff said the program may eventually include future Lucid vehicles currently in development.
“We’ve been chosen because of our EV technology leadership,” he said.
Testing for the first prototype vehicle is underway on a closed circuit at Nuro’s Las Vegas-based proving grounds. In April, the startup raised $106 million in a funding round from T. Rowe Price, Fidelity, Tiger Global and Greylock.
The deal is a “blueprint for a robotaxi program that’s both commercially viable and globally scalable,” Nuro said in a statement to CNBC.
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