Uber to invest $1.25 billion in Rivian as part of new robotaxi deal | The Verge

The news signals a big vote of confidence in Rivian’s nascent autonomy efforts, which include designing its own custom AI chips to power Level 4 autonomous vehicles. Uber, meanwhile, has been on something of a robotaxi partnering spree, corralling a variety of companies from all parts of the globe while promising access to its hundreds of millions of customers.

Rivian and Uber said the first phase of their partnership will involve deploying 10,000 autonomous R2 vehicles as robotaxis in several cities, starting with San Francisco and Miami in 2028. The companies said they expect to expand to 25 additional cities by 2031. Rivian’s autonomous robotaxi fleet will be available exclusively on Uber’s app.