Uber-exclusive robotaxis will come to the San Francisco Bay Area in late 2026, the ride-hailing company announced on LinkedIn yesterday.

Uber is developing the robotaxis in partnership with Nuro, which will provide the autonomous driving system, and Nvidia’s AI architecture, adapted to Lucid Gravity electric SUVs, the company said. “On-road development with our Robotaxi Engineering Fleet is now underway, marking the start of an exciting new chapter in our Global Robotaxi Program,” Uber said on LinkedIn.

Uber said in an Nvidia press release that it will begin scaling its global autonomous fleet starting in 2027, aiming for 100,000 vehicles. “Autonomous mobility will transform our cities for the better,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement.

Uber envisions a fleet of human drivers and robotic vehicles, along with autonomous delivery fleets. “Over the coming months, more than 100 Nuro-driven Lucid Gravity vehicles will join the fleet as we continue to test, validate, and advance the future of safe, sustainable rides,” the company said on LinkedIn.

Khosrowshahi said in August that its robotaxis in Atlanta and Austin, Texas, operated in partnership with Waymo, were “busier than 99%” of human drivers.” He also warned that robotaxi commercialization will take time. 

“AVs today are not profitable,” Uber Chief Financial Officer Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah said on the company’s Aug. 6 earnings call.

Rideshare provider Lyft is wading deeper into the autonomous vehicle space, with Lyft and AV startup Waymo partnering to launch Waymo’s robotaxi service in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2026, the companies announced Sept. 17.

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May Mobility began operating a robotaxi pilot program in Atlanta in partnership with Lyft, using modified hybrid-electric Toyota Sienna minivans, the company announced Sept. 10. And in Las Vegas, Amazon’s Zoox announced the start of self-driving ride-hail service using its purpose-built robotaxi, a vehicle that doesn’t have typical driver controls like a steering wheel.

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Uber and Lyft plan expansions of autonomous ride-hail vehicles in partnership with robotaxi providers, the companies said on earnings calls Aug. 6. AVs can operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week as needed, and have proven popular with riders, Lyft CEO David Risher said on the company’s call.

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Waymo plans to bring its robotaxi service to Washington, D.C., next year and is testing autonomous operations with safety drivers in Boston, New York City and Philadelphia, all cities that can experience harsh winter weather. Until now, Waymo has mainly limited its operations to cities with milder climates: Atlanta, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco and Austin, Texas. These expansions could show how well its self-driving cars handle snow, ice and long, dark nights.

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May Mobility plans to put robotaxis on the road this year in midtown Atlanta in conjunction with Lyft and in Arlington, Texas, with Uber, it said in a July 10 press release. The autonomous vehicle technology company’s software will integrate with the ride-hail companies’ apps, allowing riders to choose an autonomous or traditional vehicle.

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Tesla launched its robotaxi service June 22 in Austin, Texas. Rides are limited to an invited group of what appear mainly to be social media influencers and Tesla supporters. A Tesla safety monitor accompanies each ride, sitting in the front passenger seat. Riders are not allowed to sit in the driver’s seat. 

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration asked Tesla to provide details of the technology it plans to use to safely operate driverless robotaxis, which co-founder and CEO Elon Musk said the company will launch in Austin, Texas, in June. The safety agency’s request came in connection with an ongoing investigation into collisions involving Tesla vehicles using “Full Self Driving (Supervised)” technology in poor visibility conditions.

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Uber has put approximately 100 Waymo robotaxis on the streets of Austin, Texas, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said May 7 on its Q1 earnings call. He added that more autonomous vehicles would be coming to Austin, with Atlanta soon to get Waymo AVs as well. “Consumers are loving the product,” he said. The CEO also praised Waymo for keeping the electric vehicles clean, recharged and well maintained. 

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Amazon’s Zoox robotaxi unit said in an April 29 email it will begin rolling out its test fleet in the Los Angeles area. Zoox will bring an undisclosed “small number” of test fleet autonomous vehicles accompanied by human drivers to a limited area of the LA metropolitan region, according to an April 9 press release. Los Angeles becomes the sixth city where Zoox is testing its robotaxis, joining the San Francisco Bay Area, Las Vegas, Miami, Seattle and Austin, Texas.

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Tesla will launch its first robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, in June, CEO Elon Musk told investors on the company’s April 22 earnings call. Its vehicles are being tested on the streets of Austin now, Musk said, “to make sure that we deliver a safe product.” However, Tesla won’t have the field to itself.

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The two U.S. ride-hailing leaders, Lyft and Uber, outlined their goals to expand the availability of robotaxis in their fleets on earnings calls last year. Now, their plans are beginning to come into focus.

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Self-driving robotaxis will likely appear in more cities and states this year amid a more favorable federal regulatory environment, industry officials and observers say. More than $100 billion in funding has gone to companies engaged in developing and operating robotaxi technology over the past decade, according to a 2024 report by research and consulting firm IDTechEx. These operators face few regulatory barriers, but the industry seeks greater clarity — and they may get that in this Congress.

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