Uber Technologies, Inc. and Lucid Group, Inc. launched a next-generation premium global robotaxi program designed specifically for the ride-hailing service Uber.
The new robotaxi service, which is anticipated to debut in a major US city later next year, combines the scalability and proven capability of the Nuro DriverTM Level 4 autonomy system, the industry-leading software-defined vehicle architecture of the Lucid Gravity, and Uber’s extensive global network and dynamic fleet management to provide a fully integrated robotaxi experience designed for comfort, safety, and scale.
Uber plans to use the Nuro Driver in at least 20,000 Lucid cars over the course of six years. Uber or its outside fleet partners will own and run the cars, which will only be accessible to users through the Uber app. Nuro’s proving grounds in Las Vegas already have the first Lucid-Nuro robotaxi prototype running autonomously on a confined circuit.
“Autonomous vehicles have enormous potential to transform our cities for the better,” stated Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber. “We’re thrilled to partner with Nuro and Lucid on this new robotaxi program, purpose-built just for the Uber platform, to safely bring the magic of autonomous driving to more people across the world.”
“This investment from Uber further validates Lucid’s fully redundant zonal architecture and highly capable platform as ideal for autonomous vehicles, and our industry-leading range and spacious well-appointed interiors, as ideal for ridesharing,” stated Marc Winterhoff, Interim CEO at Lucid. “This is the start of our path to extend our innovation and technology leadership into this multi-trillion-dollar market.”
“We believe this partnership will demonstrate what’s possible when proven AV technology meets real-world scale,” stated Jiajun Zhu, Co-Founder and CEO at Nuro. “Nuro has spent nearly a decade building an AI-first autonomy system that’s safe, scalable, and vehicle-agnostic, proven through five years of driverless deployments across multiple U.S. cities and states. By combining our self-driving technology with Lucid’s advanced vehicle architecture and Uber’s global platform, we’re proud to enable a robotaxi service designed to reach millions of people around the world.”
Designed to Succeed: High Asset Utilization, Favorable Operating Costs, Proven Safety, and Global Scalability
The robotaxi will leverage Lucid Gravity’s advanced technology platform, redundant electrical and controls architectures, and long range, which together make it an ideal fit for use in a scalable robotaxi offering. Autonomy is enabled by the Nuro Driver—Nuro’s Level 4 self-driving system that combines automotive-grade hardware and AI-powered self-driving software designed for reliability and cost-efficiency at scale. The necessary hardware will be integrated seamlessly into the Lucid Gravity on Lucid’s assembly line and will subsequently receive Nuro’s software when the vehicle is commissioned by Uber.
With operations in 70 countries and an average of 34 million trips per day, Uber’s platform has the scale necessary to make the benefits of self-driving vehicles accessible and beneficial to people everywhere. The longer 450-mile EPA estimated range of the Lucid Gravity means less frequent downtime for charging, minimizing costs and maximizing vehicle availability. The Nuro Driver, which will enable the Lucid Gravity to operate at Level 4 autonomy, integrates an end-to-end AI model with safeguards for precision and reliability. This enables rapid adaptation to new environments, functions, and vehicle platforms – reducing deployment timelines.
Nuro will lead the development and validation of a comprehensive safety case across dozens of categories using simulations, closed course testing, and supervised on-road testing to verify that the robotaxi will operate safely.
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