Rivian and Uber to Deploy Up to 50,000 Autonomous R2 Robotaxis Across Canada, the U.S. and Europe

Rivian and Uber have announced a major strategic partnership aimed at accelerating the rollout of autonomous robotaxis, backed by an investment of up to $1.25 billion and a phased expansion to 25 cities by 2031.

• A massive investment from Uber of up to US$1.25 billion
• Initial deployment of 10,000 autonomous R2 robotaxis starting in 2028, with potential for 40,000 additional units
• Expansion planned across 25 cities in North America and Europe by 2031

Rivian Automotive and Uber Technologies are formalizing a strategic alliance that could reshape the future of autonomous mobility. The objective is clear: accelerate the development and deployment of fully autonomous robotaxi fleets based on Rivian’s upcoming R2 platform.

In the first phase, up to 10,000 autonomous vehicles will be integrated into the Uber platform. Initial launches are planned for San Francisco and Miami in 2028, followed by a broader rollout to 25 cities by 2031, including markets in the United States, Canada and Europe.

Investment of up to US$1.25 billion

To bring this vision to life, Uber plans to invest up to $1.25 billion by 2031. An initial $300 million tranche has already been committed, pending regulatory approvals. The funding is also tied to the achievement of key milestones related to autonomous system performance.

Over the longer term, Uber and its partners may acquire up to 40,000 additional autonomous vehicles starting in 2030, reinforcing the industrial scale of this initiative.

What industry leaders are saying

RJ Scaringe, Founder and CEO of Rivian, emphasized the importance of the collaboration:

“We’re incredibly excited about this partnership with Uber. It will accelerate our path to Level 4 autonomy and help us build one of the safest and most convenient autonomous platforms in the world. The combination of our growing data ecosystem, our in-house RAP1 inference platform, and our multi-modal perception system gives us strong confidence in the rapid advancement of Rivian’s autonomy in the coming years.”

Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, highlighted Rivian’s integrated approach:

“We strongly believe in Rivian’s strategy of designing the vehicle, compute platform and software stack together, while maintaining full control over manufacturing scale and supply chains in the U.S. That vertical integration, combined with data from their growing consumer fleet and their experience managing complex commercial operations, gives us confidence to pursue ambitious yet achievable targets.”

Next-generation technology pushing boundaries

From a technological standpoint, Rivian is leveraging its third-generation autonomy platform, unveiled in December 2025. It is expected to be among the most advanced in North America when it launches with the R2 in late 2026. The system combines a sophisticated sensor suite—including 11 cameras totalling 65 megapixels, five radars and one LiDAR—with significant computing power delivered by two in-house RAP1 chips capable of 1,600 TOPS of AI processing.

This architecture enables advanced environmental perception while continuously collecting real-world data to fuel an evolving learning system. LiDAR, in particular, plays a critical role through its 3D point clouds, which are essential for the development of next-generation physical AI.

The rise of autonomous mobility—and what about Lucid?

With this partnership, Rivian and Uber are not simply following industry trends—they are laying the groundwork for a global autonomous transportation network, built on a fully integrated approach from vehicle to digital platform. A strategy that could significantly accelerate large-scale robotaxi adoption over the next decade.

At this stage, it remains unclear whether this partnership complements or competes with Lucid Motors’ recent announcement. Lucid is currently supplying Uber with a fleet of Gravity models and has confirmed that its upcoming midsize platform will offer an autonomous option for Uber based on the Lunar concept. This suggests Uber could eventually operate parallel fleets from both Rivian and Lucid.