Uber, Rivian announce $1.25 billion deal for 50,000 robotaxis
The Rivian R2 will be showcased at the 2025 Los Angeles Auto Show on November 23, 2025 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California.
Josh Lefkowitz | Getty Images
Uber Technologies Plans to invest up to $1.25 billion in electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive as part of a deal to deploy up to 50,000 robotaxis in multiple countries by 2031, the companies announced Thursday.
The link contains these expectations: UberIt will purchase 10,000 autonomous versions of Rivian’s upcoming R2 electric vehicle, with the option to purchase up to 40,000 more robotaxis starting in 2030, the companies said in a statement.
Rivian’s shares rose nearly 10% in premarket trading Thursday, while Uber’s shares were relatively flat following the announcement.
The deal is the latest in a string of renewed announcements about autonomous vehicles and robotaxis as companies seek to tap into what investors envision as a multitrillion-dollar market. Many companies, including Uber, have previously failed to achieve their goals in robotaxi.
According to the statement, Uber, which is preparing to start selling R2 to consumers this spring, is expected to make a $300 million investment in Rivian shortly after the agreement is signed, subject to regulatory approval.
The companies said other investment tranches will be created depending on the achievement of certain milestones by unspecified dates until 2031. The R2 robotaxis are expected to be available exclusively through the Uber platform in 25 cities in the U.S., Canada and Europe, the companies said. The first cities are planned to be San Francisco and Miami in 2028.
“We have great faith in Rivian’s approach, co-designing the vehicle, computing platform, and software stack while maintaining end-to-end control of scale manufacturing and supply in the U.S.,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in the statement. “This vertical integration, combined with data from a growing consumer vehicle base and experience managing the complexities of commercial fleets, gives us the conviction to set these ambitious but achievable goals.”
The deal is Rivian’s latest capital investment, following a $5.8 billion software deal with German automaker Volkswagen announced at the end of 2024. This also marks an increase in Uber’s robotaxi plans following recent announcements with the EV maker. Lucid, Amazon’s Zoox, parent of Chrysler Stellantis and technology giant Nvidia.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe recently started talking about the company’s goals for robotaxiing, including the EV maker’s third-quarter results in November and its first “Autonomy and AI Day” in December.
Scaringe said Rivian’s upcoming R2 and the technologies that support it will enable the company to pursue robotaxi, which is currently dominated by Alphabet-backed Waymo in the US.
Rivian Chief Executive Officer RJ Scaringe delivers a speech showcasing advances in self-driving technology at the company’s first Autonomy and Artificial Intelligence Day on December 11, 2025 in Palo Alto, California, USA.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
The emergence of new technologies, including artificial intelligence and more capable semiconductor chips, will allow companies to eventually achieve success with robotaxis, Scaringe and other executives said.
“The scale of Rivian’s growing data wheel with RAP1 [Rivian Autonomy Processor]Our state-of-the-art in-house inference platform and multi-modal perception platform make us incredibly excited about the rapid advancement of Rivian autonomy over the next few years,” Scaringe said in a statement Thursday.
— CNBC’s Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.
