Uber has chosen San Francisco to launch a premium robotaxi service that will use Lucid Motors’ all-electric Gravity SUVs equipped with self-driving technology developed by Nuro in 2026 — a move that puts the ride-hailing giant in direct competition with Waymo.
The announcement came as the final day of TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 kicked off in San Francisco. Nuro president and co-CEO Dave Ferguson and Uber chief product officer Shaheen Kansal are scheduled to be interviewed on the Disrupt stage Wednesday afternoon.
“The Bay Area has long been the birthplace of transformative technology, and it’s only fitting that Uber’s next-generation robotaxi program with Lucid and Nuro will begin here — which will go public next year,” Kansal said in a statement. “Combining deep expertise in electric vehicles, autonomy and ridehailing, we’re laying the groundwork for safe and scalable autonomous routes in the Bay Area and beyond.”
Earlier this year, Uber said it would invest $300 million in Lucid and separately buy “at least” 20,000 of its new Gravity SUVs over the next six years as part of a plan to develop and launch a premium robotaxi service. These electric vehicles will be equipped with Nuro’s autonomous vehicle system and will be owned and operated by Uber or its third-party fleet partners. At the time, the three companies had not identified a launch market.
The decision to launch in San Francisco could add tension to Uber’s relationship with Waymo. The companies settled in 2018 in a trade secret theft case, but have since patched things up — earlier this year, they launched a robotaxi service in Austin and Atlanta. In 2023, the companies partnered to make Waymos available in the Uber app in Phoenix.
Now, Uber is entering a field dominated by Alphabet’s self-driving division. Waymo, based in Mountain View, California, operates commercial robotaxi services in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as in Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles and Phoenix. The company has said it plans to launch in six more cities in 2026.
Uber, Nuro and Lucid are already deploying a fleet of test vehicles. Lucid recently delivered vehicles to Nuro, which is integrating the self-driving system into the fleet for testing and validation. The test fleet is expected to reach around 100 vehicles, according to the companies.
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Testing on public roads will be the most visible sign of the partnership, but Nuro also plans to use simulation and closed courses for testing.
Over the past two years, Uber has struck a series of partnerships with self-driving technology companies that span the gamut of how self-driving systems can be implemented in the physical world — though its deals with Waymo, Nuro and Lucid may be the meatiest. The ride-hailing giant has partnered with more than 18 companies worldwide in ride-hailing, delivery and trucking. This year alone, it announced deals with Michigan-based Ann Arbor, May Mobility and Volkswagen, as well as Chinese self-driving companies Momenta, WeRide and Baidu.
