Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE:UBER) has reportedly committed over nearly $10 billion in investments to develop and bolster its Robotaxi strategy as the self-driving sector gathers steam.
Fleet Size, Stake In Companies
The ride-hailing giant will enhance its Robotaxi prowess by investing in Robotaxi companies and by increasing its fleet size by buying thousands of Robotaxis, according to a Financial Times report on Wednesday. Uber will commit over $2.5 billion in investments to acquire equity stakes in Robotaxi companies.
It will also allocate over $7.5 billion to increase its fleet size in the next few years, the report said, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter. However, the investments into companies are tied to them hitting pre-determined deployment milestones, the report said.
Uber didn’t immediately respond to Benzinga‘s request for comment.
Uber’s Robotaxi Exploits
Uber recently announced an expansion of its partnership with Lucid Group Inc. (NASDAQ:LCID), committing to purchase over 35,000 Lucid vehicles for EV maker’s upcoming global robotaxi service, while also committing to an additional $200 million investment into Lucid.
The ride-hailing giant also launched Europe's first commercial Robotaxi service, in partnership with Pony AI Inc. (NASDAQ:PONY) and Verne, a Robotaxi company based in Croatia. The service will initially run in areas of the Croatian capital Zagreb with a safety operator onboard before transitioning to a fully autonomous Robotaxi.
Uber has partnered up with WeRide Inc. (NASDAQ:WRD) to launch its driverless Robotaxis in the UAE, while also teaming up with Baidu Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:BIDU) Apollo Go to launch Robotaxis in Dubai. Apollo Go is also launching its service in London in a partnership with Uber, as well as its rival Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT).
According to Benzinga Edge Rankings, UBER scores well on the Growth metric and offers satisfactory Value.
Price Action: UBER surged 0.79% to $72.91 at Market close on Tuesday, surging 0.47% further to $73.25 during the overnight session.
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