Uber, Lucid and Nuro join forces to develop exclusive premium robo-taxi fleet
- Perry Richardson
- Jul 17
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 18
Uber has teamed up with electric carmaker Lucid and autonomous vehicle specialist Nuro to create a new high-end robotaxi service that will run exclusively on the Uber ride-hailing platform.
The service is set to launch in a major US city next year and will feature Lucid’s upcoming Gravity SUV equipped with Nuro’s Level 4 autonomous driving system. The vehicles will be owned and operated by Uber or its fleet partners and made available only through Uber’s app.
A total of 20,000 Lucid vehicles are expected to be deployed over six years. The first prototype is already being tested at Nuro’s Las Vegas proving grounds.
Lucid will integrate the necessary autonomous hardware during manufacturing, with Nuro’s software added once the vehicle is prepared for Uber. The Lucid Gravity’s range of 450 miles and its platform’s redundant systems are designed to support high usage with limited downtime.
Uber said it will invest several hundred million dollars into both Lucid and Nuro as part of the deal.
Nuro, which has spent nearly ten years building its autonomy system, brings proven safety and deployment experience from past driverless operations in several US states. The Nuro Driver system uses AI-based software and vehicle-agnostic hardware that can be scaled across different environments and vehicle types.
Safety validation will include simulation testing, closed course trials, and real-world supervised testing.
Uber’s current network handles 34 million trips daily in over 70 countries, providing the kind of reach needed to support large-scale deployment of autonomous vehicles. The partnership aims to cut operational costs, improve safety and offer an integrated user experience within Uber’s existing ecosystem.
Lucid said the collaboration is a step towards entering the broader autonomous mobility market, building on its existing vehicle architecture and design.
"Autonomous vehicles have enormous potential to transform our cities for the better," said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber. "We're thrilled to partner with Nuro and Lucid on this new robotaxi program, purpose-built just for the Uber platform, to safely bring the magic of autonomous driving to more people across the world."
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