Uber and Rivian announced a major partnership on March 19, 2026, with Uber investing up to $1.25 billion in the EV maker to deploy fully autonomous robotaxis on its ride-hailing platform.
The first phase targets 10,000 autonomous versions of Rivian's R2 electric vehicle, with an option to purchase up to 40,000 additional robotaxis beginning in 2030. Initial deployments are expected in San Francisco and Miami by 2028, expanding to 25 cities by 2031.
Uber will invest an initial $300 million after the deal's signing, subject to regulatory approval, with the remaining investment tied to achieving autonomous performance milestones through 2031.
The partnership represents Uber's most aggressive move into autonomous vehicles since it sold its self-driving unit to Aurora in 2020. Rather than building its own autonomous technology, Uber is positioning itself as the platform layer — providing the ride-hailing network while partners like Rivian handle vehicle manufacturing and autonomous driving systems.
For Rivian, the deal provides a massive guaranteed order book and a path to profitability through high-utilization commercial vehicle sales, rather than relying solely on consumer purchases.
The announcement comes as the robo-taxi market heats up, with Waymo expanding operations, Tesla's robotaxi ambitions, and multiple Chinese companies deploying autonomous fleets at scale.