Rivian has formed a partnership with Uber and will develop a robotaxi based on the R2 SUV. The deal is valued at up to $1.25 billion. Uber will make an initial $300 million investment in Rivian and plans to introduce up to 50,000 robotaxis by 2030.
On March 19, TechCrunch reported that Uber plans to first roll out the R2 robotaxi in San Francisco and Miami in 2028 and expand to 25 cities in North America and Europe by 2031. Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe (RJ 스캐린지) is making self-driving technology his top priority and is targeting full autonomy by 2027.
Rivian is developing an AI-based self-driving system and plans to equip the R2 SUV with lidar sensors and a high-performance computer in 2026 to offer upgraded autonomous-driving functions. But securing fully autonomous Level 4 technology is expected to take considerable time.
Uber is also working with Lucid Motors and Nuro, in addition to Rivian, and is expanding partnerships with 25 autonomous-driving companies including Waymo, Motional and Baidu.
Chi-gyu Hwang
delight@d-today.co.kr