SAN FRANCISCO (March 19): Uber will invest up to US$1.25 billion in electric vehicle maker Rivian as part of a deal in which the ride-hailing firm will start deploying 10,000 fully autonomous R2 SUVs as robotaxis from 2028, the companies said on Thursday. San Francisco-based Uber will make an initial investment of US$300 million, and will fund the remaining amount through 2031, subject to Rivian meeting certain autonomous milestones, the companies said. The company is also gearing up to roll out its smaller, more affordable R2 SUVs this quarter. "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 across much of the autonomous vehicle industry, including with Waymo, Baidu and Lucid.

Source: The Edge Markets March 19, 2026 12:34 UTC