"Uber is kicking off the partnership with an initial $300 million investment in Rivian, and is "expected to purchase 10,000 fully autonomous R2 robotaxis" ahead of a planned rollout in San Francisco and Miami in 2028. Uber will have the option to buy up to 40,000 more autonomous R2 SUVs from Rivian starting in 2030."
"Rivian hasn't started producing the R2 SUV yet; it has said manufacturing is expected to begin by June. Nor has it tested and deployed a self-driving system designed for robotaxis. To raise the hurdle even higher, the robotaxi is supposed to be built in Rivian's Georgia factory, which is still under construction."
"Scaringe was behind the company's 2021 decision to ditch its previous rules-based framework for driver assistance in favor of an AI-first strategy that uses large language models to train the system how to perceive and navigate the world. This automated driving system is designed to learn from fleet data and become increasingly autonomous."
Rivian and Uber announced a partnership to develop autonomous R2 SUV robotaxis, with Uber investing $300 million initially and committing to purchase 10,000 fully autonomous vehicles for deployment starting in 2028 in San Francisco and Miami. Uber holds options to buy up to 40,000 additional autonomous R2s from 2030 onward, with plans to expand to 25 cities across the U.S., Canada, and Europe by end of 2031. The fleet operates exclusively on Uber's network. Despite significant financial opportunity, Rivian faces substantial challenges: R2 production hasn't begun, autonomous systems remain untested for robotaxi deployment, and the Georgia manufacturing facility is still under construction. CEO RJ Scaringe prioritizes autonomous driving technology, having shifted the company to an AI-first strategy using large language models for perception and navigation.
Read at TechCrunch
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