Uber and Nvidia to Launch Robotaxis in 28 Cities Next Year

• Deployment will begin in LA and San Francisco in 2027, scaling to 28 cities across North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia by 2028
• Vehicles will use Nvidia's DRIVE Hyperion platform with Alpamayo AI for complex road scenarios, progressing from data collection to operator-supervised launches before reaching fully driverless Level 4 operations
• The partnership adds to Uber's existing collaborations with Lucid Group and Nuro, as it competes against Waymo's currently leading commercial service and Tesla's planned camera-based robotaxi offering

Summary

Uber Technologies and Nvidia announced a major partnership to deploy autonomous robotaxis across 28 cities globally by 2028. The service will launch in Los Angeles and San Francisco in 2027, utilizing Nvidia's DRIVE Hyperion autonomous vehicle platform and Alpamayo, a reasoning-based AI model designed for complex driving scenarios.

Key Details

The rollout will follow a phased approach: beginning with data-collection vehicles to train systems on local driving conditions, followed by operator-supervised launches, and ultimately achieving fully driverless Level 4 operations. The expansion will span North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia.

Competitive Landscape

The partnership enters an increasingly crowded autonomous vehicle market. Alphabet's Waymo currently leads the sector, operating fully driverless commercial services in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Tesla poses a significant competitive threat, leveraging its camera-based autonomy approach and substantial manufacturing capacity for its planned robotaxi service.

Strategic Implications

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi emphasized the company's strategy of supporting a "multi-player" autonomous vehicle ecosystem rather than developing proprietary technology. This builds on existing partnerships with Lucid Group and autonomous startup Nuro to deploy robotaxis on the Uber network.

The collaboration represents Nvidia's expansion beyond hardware into autonomous driving services, while enabling Uber to accelerate its autonomous vehicle ambitions without massive internal R&D investment. The partnership structure positions Uber as a platform orchestrator in the emerging robotaxi market, potentially diversifying its technology partnerships as autonomous ride-hailing commercializes.