Uber to invest $300M into Lucid to usher in robotaxi revolution

Taxi service provider Uber will be investing 300,000,000 USD into electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid to accelerate the development of fully autonomous cabs known as robotaxis. The first cars are expected to hit the streets in at least one U.S. city before the end of 2026, Reuters reports.

Starting next year and valid over the next six years, Uber undertakes to buy out and use 20,000 autonomous SUVs based on the Lucid Gravity chassis. The self-driving technology shall be provided by a third-party firm called Nuro.

In the meantime, the company is already putting a single Lucid-Nuro prototype through its courses on a closed circuit at its research HQ in Las Vegas. Nuro is a startup co-founded and managed by former Waymo engineers, so it should possess enough technological expertise. The company is currently focusing on delivering last-mile delivery vehicles to businesses and providing autonomous driving solutions to companies operating commercial and passenger vehicle fleets.

Following a series of incidents five years ago, Uber said it had lost interest towards self-driving vehicles. It now looks like the company has come around. It signed a partnership agreement with Waymo, in addition to Nuro, and concluded a deal with Volkswagen Group in April this year according to which the German company will supply it with ID.Buzz electric vans for commercial use.