Uber taps Rivian to build robotaxis in deal worth up to $1.25B

Uber and Rivian announced a partnership worth up to $1.25 billion to build thousands of robotaxis based on Rivian's upcoming R2 SUV, starting with Uber's $300 million investment and plans to purchase 10,000 autonomous vehicles for deployment in San Francisco and Miami by 2028. The deal includes an option for up to 40,000 additional vehicles by 2030, with plans to expand to 25 cities across the U.S., Canada, and Europe by 2031. Despite the ambitious timeline, Rivian faces significant challenges as the R2 SUV is not yet in production, its Georgia factory is still under construction, and its AI-based Rivian Autonomy Platform has yet to be proven for fully autonomous robotaxi operations.