Uber Stock Backs 35,000-Robotaxi Fleet With $500M Nuro Bet

TLDR

• Uber has invested close to $500 million in autonomous vehicle startup Nuro through direct investment and milestone-linked payments.
• The deal is part of a three-way agreement with Nuro and Lucid to deploy 35,000 robotaxis on Uber’s network.
• The fleet will run on Lucid Gravity SUVs loaded with Nuro’s self-driving software.
• Nuro has already hit its first set of milestones, unlocking an initial tranche of performance-based funding.
• Remaining payments are tied to driverless testing later this year, fully autonomous passenger ops before year-end, and wider rollout in 2027.

Uber Technologies (UBER) has committed close to $500 million to autonomous vehicle startup Nuro, Reuters reported on June 4, citing unnamed sources. UBER stock was trading up 0.10% on the news.

Uber Technologies, Inc., UBER

The investment is larger than Uber’s initial outlay and comes through a combination of direct capital and milestone-linked funding. It builds on Uber’s participation in Nuro’s $203 million funding round, which valued the startup at $6 billion.

Nuro counts Nvidia and SoftBank among its existing backers, giving it a well-resourced base as it scales its autonomous driving ambitions.

The headline goal is a fleet of 35,000 robotaxis running on Lucid Gravity SUVs, paired with future midsize models. The vehicles would be equipped with Nuro’s self-driving software and operate through Uber’s ride-hailing platform.

Uber had separately disclosed a $500 million stake in Lucid, making it a key financial stakeholder across multiple parts of the supply chain — from the car itself to the software stack to the distribution network.

Milestone Payments Already Unlocked

The milestone-linked portion of the deal is structured around defined development and commercial targets. According to Reuters’ sources, the first set of those milestones has already been hit on schedule.

That means an initial tranche of performance-based capital has been released to Nuro. Remaining payments are tied to driverless testing later this year, fully autonomous passenger operations before year-end, and broader service expansion in 2027.

Nuro is currently running tests with safety drivers in the San Francisco Bay Area ahead of a planned public launch later this year.

In April, Nuro received a California permit to test autonomous Lucid Gravity vehicles without a safety driver across selected counties. A month later, in May, it received authorization to carry passengers in supervised testing.

Nuro’s Shift From Delivery Robots to Ride-Hailing

Nuro originally built small delivery robots before pivoting in 2024 to licensing its autonomous software to vehicle manufacturers and mobility operators. The Uber deal is central to that new direction.

The robotaxi rollout would mark a major step in that transition, moving Nuro from a niche delivery play to a player in the broader passenger mobility market.

Uber, for its part, is not putting all its eggs in one basket. The company has also formed autonomous vehicle partnerships with Baidu, Rivian, and Wayve, and operates alongside Waymo in select US cities.

UBER’s current P/E ratio sits at 17.88, with a GF Score of 83 out of 100. Insider activity over the past three months shows $2.2 million in stock sold, including one transaction of 30,000 units.

Nuro’s most recent California authorization, granted in May, allowed it to carry passengers in supervised testing — a required step before any fully driverless commercial service can begin.

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