Uber invests millions of dollars in Lucid and Nuro to build a distinguished Robotaxi service

Uber invests hundreds of millions of dollars in EV Maker Lucid and Technology Technology Startup Nuro in an attempt to launch its distinctive Robotaxi service.

According to the deal announced on Thursday, Uber will invest $ 300 million in Lucid and buy a separately 20,000 new attractive cars from EV Maker over the next six years. This EVS will be equipped with the NURO independent vehicle system, and the vehicles will be managed and managed by Uber or third -party fleet partners. Uber plans to launch the Robotaxi service in a major American city next year.

It is expected that the production of these modified clear gravitational vehicles will start in late 2026, According to an organizational deposit.

Uber also invests an “hundred million dollars” amounts in Noro. One of the sources informed the agreement said that the amount is more than Uber’s investment in Lucid.

The co -founder and President Dave Ferguson told Techcrunch that the agreement between the three companies was a year this year.

“I think this may be a reflection of the extent of meat,” he said, adding that Uber was looking forward to a very great commitment to the roboty program, and spent time with almost every AV company to find the most appropriate partner.

“We were pleased that at the end of all of this, we were the chosen partner,” he said.

Ferguson said that the engineers of Lucid and Noro have already made progress in the project. Companies are tested by a typical driver on a closed path in Noro Las Vegas territory.

Ferguson said Lucid’s gravitational cars are ideal because vehicles are already equipped with a kind of repetition of the devices required for the 3 level driving system. (Level 3 is appointment before Automobile Engineers Association This allows the driver to take their eyes from the road and hand over the steering wheel in certain circumstances.)

Nuro’s gravitational vehicles will be level 4, which means that the car can deal with all aspects of driving in certain conditions without human intervention. However, the added repetition made him “almost joy” as Noro merged his system for his autonomous vehicles, Ferguson said.

Uber has spent the past two years in locking in partnerships with autonomous vehicle technology companies, covering the spectrum of how to apply self -driving systems to the material world. The riding giant has a partnership with more than 18 companies worldwide, via horseback ridingDelivery and displaced. This year alone, she announced deals with her Ann Arbur, Michigan in May VolkswagenAs well as Chinese self -driving companies, Momenta, FireAnd Baidu.

Uber’s most prominent partnership in the United States-which works commercially today-with Waymo. Companies provide “Waymo on Uber” service in Austin and Atlanta.

This deal shows the amount of money that Uber wants to invest in the hopes of benefiting from the independent, and even dominant vehicle market.

The agreement is also to verify Noro’s health, which raised more than 2 billion dollars It is prominent investors since its foundation in 2016. The startup initially focused on the AV application on a low -speed fleet, Road delivery robotsWhich developed. But the company was burned through its cash reserves, and after confronting the difficult capital markets, it made multiple rounds of workers ’demobilization in 2022 and 2023.

Last year, Noro The axis of its business strategy To focus more on independent driving technology in startup. I got rid of the low -speed delivery model and an explanation of the licensing of independent car technology for auto industries and transportation service providers, such as delivery and delivery companies. The company said at the time that the decision to focus only on developing and licensing the AV system allowed Nuro to extend its runway from 1.5 years to 3.5 years.

But the company still needs a license to prove its transformation. The Uber Agreement, along with many others in business, indicates, according to Fergson, that the axis is fruitful.