Uber to invest up to $1.25 billion in Rivian as part of robotaxi deal

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Uber will invest up to $1.25 billion in electric vehicle maker Rivian as part of a deal in which the ride-hailing firm will start deploying 10,000 fully autonomous R2 SUVs as robotaxis from 2028, the companies said on Thursday.

Rivian's shares rose about 9% in premarket trading.

Interest in driverless taxis has surged in recent months after years of missed promises, with artificial intelligence and tech partnerships offering hopes of solving complex traffic scenarios faster and mitigating high costs.

While Rivian, known for its high-end R1S SUVs and R1T pickup trucks, has not launched a robotaxi yet, it unveiled its first custom computer chip for self-driving in December. The company is also gearing up to roll out its smaller, more affordable R2 SUVs this quarter.

R2 robotaxis will be available exclusively on Uber's platform, starting with San Francisco and Miami, the companies said, adding that Uber has the option to buy up to 40,000 more beginning in 2030.

"Should all milestones be achieved, the companies will have deployed thousands of unsupervised Rivian R2 robotaxis across 25 cities in the U.S., Canada, and Europe by the end of 2031," they said.