Uber To Invest Up To $1.25 Billion In Rivian For Robotaxi Deal

UBER committed up to $1.25 billion to RIVN in a robotaxi partnership announced March 19, 2026, structured as a $300 million initial tranche upon closing followed by four milestone-gated tranches through 2031 . The deal secures up to 50,000 autonomous Rivian R2 SUVs exclusively for Uber's platform — 10,000 committed vehicles with an option for 40,000 more beginning in 2030 — all of which will operate exclusively through Uber's ride-hailing and delivery network.

The R2 robotaxi will be equipped with Rivian's third-generation autonomy platform featuring 11 cameras totaling 65 megapixels, five radars, and one LiDAR unit . Initial commercial deployments are planned for San Francisco and Miami in 2028, expanding to 25 cities across the US, Canada, and Europe by end of 2031. RIVN shares surged roughly 10% in premarket trading before paring gains, while UBER dipped approximately 1% as investors weighed the strategic implications of the deal structure.

The deal marks a meaningful strategic pivot for Uber: the company will own the fleet vehicles rather than relying on third-party operators — a departure from its historically asset-light model that carries direct depreciation and utilization risk. Waymo remains the commercial robotaxi market leader with approximately 400,000 paid rides per week across 10 US cities, giving it a significant operational head start. Uber's multi-partner AV strategy — which now includes Waymo, WeRide, and Rivian — positions it as a platform aggregator across competing autonomous driving ecosystems rather than betting on a single technology provider .