Rivian, Uber Partner to Deploy Autonomous Vehicles

Rivian has entered into a new partnership with Uber that is expected to bring tens of thousands of self-driving vehicles to roads in the coming years, while also delivering a significant investment into the Normal-based electric vehicle manufacturer.

Under the agreement announced late last month, Uber will invest up to $1.25 billion in Rivian as part of a plan to deploy as many as 50,000 autonomous Rivian R2 vehicles. The vehicles will operate as robotaxis and will be available exclusively through the Uber platform.

The first phase of the partnership will include the deployment of 10,000 fully autonomous R2 vehicles, with initial launches planned in San Francisco and Miami. Uber will provide an initial $300 million investment to support this phase. Customers are expected to begin booking rides in the self-driving vehicles as early as 2028.

The companies said the program is expected to expand to 25 cities across the United States, Canada and Europe by 2031. Uber will also have the option to purchase an additional 40,000 vehicles beginning in 2030. The remainder of the $1.25 billion investment will be tied to the achievement of specific autonomous development milestones as the companies work toward a fully scaled fleet.

Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said the partnership will help advance the company’s autonomous vehicle capabilities and expand its platform.

“We couldn’t be more excited about this partnership with Uber,” Scaringe said in a statement. “It will help accelerate our path to level 4 autonomy to create one of the safest and most convenient autonomous platforms in the world.”

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company views Rivian’s integrated approach to vehicle design and manufacturing as a key factor in the partnership.

“We’re big believers in Rivian’s approach, designing the vehicle, compute platform and software stack together, while maintaining end-to-end control of scaled manufacturing and supply in the U.S.,” Khosrowshahi said in a statement.

Rivian currently manufactures electric pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and delivery vans at its plant in Normal, where it remains one of McLean County’s largest employers. The company has not publicly disclosed an exact employee count at the facility, though estimates place the workforce between 5,000 and 7,000 employees.

A company spokesperson said Rivian expects to add to its workforce in the coming months as it prepares for the expansion tied to the R2 program.