Uber to Offer Robotaxis in Houston With Lucid and Nuro, Posing Challenge to Waymo

Uber Technologies Inc. will offer driverless robotaxi rides in Houston in vehicles developed by Lucid Group Inc. and Nuro Inc., setting it up to challenge Waymo in the fourth-largest US city.

Nuro is already testing the vehicles in Houston, but the service won’t launch until mid-2027, Uber said in a statement Wednesday. An Uber spokesperson declined to specify how many cars will be available in Houston, saying more details will be shared closer to launch. Lucid is expected to expand its fleet of test vehicles produced at its Arizona factory in the coming weeks to be used for further safety validation and to gain the certification needed to put the driverless vehicles on the streets.

The move is a step toward Uber challenging Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo, which has also been a partner of the ride-hailer. Uber and Waymo currently work together to provide Waymo rides on the Uber app in Austin, Atlanta and Phoenix, but Waymo offers its service independently in major urban markets like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston and Dallas.

Uber pivoted away from building its own driverless vehicles after selling its in-house research team in 2020. It has instead focused on setting up the infrastructure and providing the services that are necessary to stand up commercial robotaxi operations. As part of this effort, it has struck more than a dozen deals with robotaxi developers in recent years — a bet on a future where it can be the go-to platform for autonomous vehicles and human drivers in the US and abroad.

Uber has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Lucid and Nuro, and plans to offer robotaxi service in the San Francisco Bay Area as part of a broader partnership with the two companies announced last year. In April, Uber expanded a purchase commitment with Lucid to at least 35,000 robotaxis, which it said will be made available in dozens of markets in the coming years.

The rideshare giant said it still expects to launch robotaxi service in the Bay Area this year, now that Nuro — which develops the self-driving technology — has received California permits for driverless testing and transporting passengers with a safety driver. (It would still need additional approvals for paid rides and driverless passenger trips.)

In Houston, Uber said it has signed a multiyear lease for a 50,000-square-foot depot and dedicated charging pitstop for the Lucid-Nuro vehicles. The facility will be equipped with 40 fast chargers and 15 maintenance bays, it added. Construction is expected to begin in early 2027.

“The facilities will serve as the operational backbone for Uber’s autonomous robotaxi program with Lucid and Nuro, and will enable Uber and its fleet partners to manage charging, maintenance, repairs, cleaning, as well as other day-to-day fleet operations at scale,” the company said.Uber said it will share more details on its fleet partner in Houston at a later date.