Rivian Automotive, Inc. RIVN and Uber Technologies, Inc. UBER have formed a strategic partnership to advance their autonomous vehicle ambitions. As part of the initial rollout, the companies aim to introduce 10,000 fully autonomous R2 robotaxis. The first launches are planned for San Francisco and Miami in 2028 and are likely to expand to 25 cities by 2031.
Under the agreement, Uber plans to invest up to $1.25 billion in Rivian through 2031, contingent on meeting specific autonomous development milestones. An initial $300 million investment, equivalent to roughly 19.55 million shares, will follow regulatory approval, with additional funding released in phases as milestones are achieved. Uber will also pay licensing fees to use Rivian’s autonomous driving software.
If all targets are met, thousands of fully driverless R2 robotaxis could be operating across 25 cities in the United States, Canada and Europe by the end of 2031. The deal also includes an option for Uber to purchase up to 40,000 additional autonomous R2 vehicles starting in 2030. This collaboration follows Rivian’s earlier $5.8 billion software agreement with Volkswagen, announced in late 2024.
Per RJ Scaringe, CEO and founder of Rivian, the partnership with Uber is expected to accelerate Rivian’s progress toward Level 4 autonomy, leveraging its data capabilities, RAP1 inference platform and multi-modal perception system. Rivian’s upcoming R2 model and its underlying technologies position the company to enter the robotaxi market, which is currently led in the United States by Alphabet’s Waymo.
RIVN’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks
RIVN carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present.
Some better-ranked stocks in the auto space are Renault SA RNLSY and Modine Manufacturing Company MOD, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RNLSY’s 2026 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 14.4% and 176.3%, respectively. The EPS estimates for 2026 and 2027 have improved 34 cents and 18 cents, respectively, in the past 30 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MOD’s fiscal 2026 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 21.3% and 19%, respectively. The EPS estimate for fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2027 has improved by a penny and 4 cents, respectively, in the past 30 days.
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