The race to robotaxi glory continues. According to financial media, the world’s number one ridesharing company, Uber, will own 700 robotaxis by the end of this year, 2026. Here’s the scoop.
The key insights
A recent report on Yahoo! Finance indicated that Uber, as per its CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, is expecting to own around 700 robotaxis on their platform by the end of this year, which the number to grow to over 2,000 robotaxis in 2027.
Zoox has been selected and courted by Uber to become the partner for this project.
“It’s not a car,” says Zoox, and it considers itself a purpose-built autonomous vehicle designed for riders, not drivers. They also consider themselves as the future of ridesharing.
Khosrowshahi added, "Our focus is shifting from partnerships and testing to driverless commercial service.”
The details
Earlier this year, financial media reported that Uber is planning to invest over a whopping $10 million on robotaxis.
“The real goal is to get to tens of thousand[s of] vehicles in '28 and beyond, and really scaling the ecosystem,” Khosrowshahi further noted.
During that time, Uber was partnered with automakers Lucid and Rivian to take charge in supplying these cars.
Last year, Uber indicated it planned to deploy at the minimum 20,000 Lucid Gravity carrs on its platform, and in March stated that it, or its fleet partners would buy up to 50,000 Rivian R2 robotaxis over the next several years. Way to go, Uber!
On a sidenote, Uber is also expecting to start fully-driverles testing together with Nuro and Lucid this quarter, and that commercial work would start in the San Francisco Bay Area early next year, followed by Houston and other cities.
“We have relationships with the cities. We have operations in those markets,” Khosrowshahi pointed out. “We don’t have to build demand. The demand is already there.”
What are robotaxis?
And now to cap this story off, robotaxis are actually self-driving vehicles that transport passengers without human drivers. With AI, cameras, sensors, and advanced navigation systems, they detect obstacles, follow traffic rules, and navigate roads.
Companies like Waymo and Baidu operate robotaxi services. These vehicles aim to improve transportation convenience, reduce costs, and enhance road safety. For more ridesharing news, keep it tuned in here on RSF. Happy holidays, and ‘til then!