Lucid Group, Nuro and Uber Technologies will work together on a next-generation premium global robotaxi program created exclusively for the Uber ride-hailing platform.
Expected to launch later next year in a major US city, the new robotaxi service combines the software-defined vehicle architecture of the Lucid Gravity, the scalability and proven capability of the Nuro Driver Level 4 autonomy system and Uber’s global network and dynamic fleet management, delivering a fully integrated robotaxi experience developed for comfort, safety and scale.
Uber aims to deploy 20,000 or more Lucid vehicles equipped with the Nuro Driver over six years. The vehicles will be owned and operated by Uber or its third-party fleet partners and made available to riders exclusively via the Uber platform. The first Lucid-Nuro robotaxi prototype is already operating autonomously on a closed circuit at Nuro’s Las Vegas proving grounds.
As part of a deepening relationship with each partner, Uber plans to make multi-hundred-million dollar investments in both Nuro and Lucid.
“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.”
“This investment from Uber further validates Lucid’s fully redundant zonal architecture and highly capable platform as ideal for autonomous vehicles, and our industry-leading range and spacious well-appointed interiors as ideal for ridesharing,” said Marc Winterhoff, interim CEO at Lucid. “This is the start of our path to extend our innovation and technology leadership into this multi-trillion-dollar market.”
“We believe this partnership will demonstrate what’s possible when proven AV technology meets real-world scale,” said Nuro co-founder and CEO Jiajun Zhu. “Nuro has spent nearly a decade building an AI-first autonomy system that’s safe, scalable and vehicle-agnostic, proven through five years of driverless deployments across multiple US cities and states. By combining our self-driving technology with Lucid’s advanced vehicle architecture and Uber’s global platform, we’re proud to enable a robotaxi service designed to reach millions of people around the world.”
The robotaxi will leverage Lucid Gravity’s advanced technology platform, redundant electrical and controls architectures, and long range, which together make it an ideal fit for use in a scalable robotaxi offering. Autonomy is enabled by the Nuro Driver – Nuro’s Level 4 self-driving system that combines automotive-grade hardware and AI-powered self-driving software designed for reliability and cost-efficiency at scale. The necessary hardware will be integrated seamlessly into the Lucid Gravity on Lucid’s assembly line and will subsequently receive Nuro’s software when the vehicle is commissioned by Uber.
With operations in 70 countries and an average of 34 million trips per day, Uber says its platform has the scale necessary to make the benefits of self-driving vehicles accessible and beneficial to people everywhere. The longer 450-mile EPA estimated range of the Lucid Gravity means less frequent downtime for charging, minimizing costs and maximizing vehicle availability. The Nuro Driver, which will enable the Lucid Gravity to operate at Level 4 autonomy, integrates an end-to-end AI model with safeguards for precision and reliability. This enables rapid adaptation to new environments, functions and vehicle platforms – reducing deployment timelines.
Nuro will lead the development and validation of a comprehensive safety case across dozens of categories using simulations, closed course testing and supervised on-road testing to verify that the robotaxi will operate safely.