The first Lucid-Nuro robotaxi prototype is already operating autonomously on a closed circuit in Las Vegas. Photo: Uber
The first Lucid-Nuro robotaxi prototype is already operating autonomously on a closed circuit in Las Vegas. Photo: Uber
The first Lucid-Nuro robotaxi prototype is already operating autonomously on a closed circuit in Las Vegas. Photo: Uber
The first Lucid-Nuro robotaxi prototype is already operating autonomously on a closed circuit in Las Vegas. Photo: Uber

Uber partnering with Saudi-backed Lucid and Nuro to launch robotaxis in 2026


Alvin R Cabral
  • English
  • Arabic

Uber Technology has teamed up with Saudi Arabia-backed electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors and US robotics company Nuro to launch a global robotaxi programme, as the race towards self-driving transport accelerates.

San Francisco-based Uber will be making “multi-hundred-million dollar investments” in both Lucid and Nuro for the robotaxis, with the first service to be launched in a “major US city” in the latter part of 2026, Uber said on Thursday.

Uber plans to use at least 20,000 Lucid vehicles equipped with the level-4 Nuro Driver platform through six years, it said. The first Lucid-Nuro robotaxi prototype is already operating autonomously on a closed circuit in Las Vegas.

Level 4 refers to the second-highest of the six levels of vehicle autonomy, which run from 0 to 5, in which vehicles do not require human intervention under most circumstances. Level 5, the highest, requires no human attention and vehicles under this status may not even have steering wheels or pedals.

Nuro Driver is able to “mimic safe natural driving behaviour, integrating an end-to-end AI model with reliable safeguards for precision and reliability”, according to its website.

“Autonomous vehicles have enormous potential to transform our cities for the better,” Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive of Uber, said.

Driverless, or autonomous, vehicles, are seen as the future of transport, and major companies are racing to make advancements in its technologies, trying to perfect their platforms.

These vehicles, in which billions of investments have been poured into, are meant to support the sustainable transport agenda countries are aiming for.

However, there has been a lot of debate on when fully autonomous vehicles will become roadworthy.

A number of reports have shown that it may take quite a while, with a 2023 study from GlobalData suggesting it would take 20 years to achieve this level of innovation.

The Uber-Lucid-Nuro partnership would be “the start of our path to extend our innovation and technology leadership into this multi-trillion-dollar market”, said Marc Winterhoff, interim chief executive of Lucid, which is backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

The National has reached out to the companies seeking comment on whether the service would be brought to other regions, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Uber said its operations in 70 countries and an average of 34 million trips per day will give it the resources necessary to “make the benefits of self-driving vehicles accessible … to people everywhere”.

Nuro, meanwhile, will lead the development and validation of comprehensive safety cases across dozens of categories using simulations, closed course testing and supervised on-road testing to verify that the robotaxi will operate safely, it said.

In numbers

1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:

  • 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
  • 150 tonnes to landfill
  • 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal

800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal

Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year

25 staff on site

 

Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021

Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.

“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”

Avengers: Endgame

Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin

4/5 stars 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

Updated: July 17, 2025, 2:16 PM`