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Uber’s new obsession: robotaxis
Uber is apparently done acting like just a rideshare app with a nice color palette. According to the Financial Times, the company has committed nearly $10 billion to its robotaxi strategy, including $2.5 billion in equity stakes in autonomous-vehicle firms and another $7.5 billion to expand its autonomous fleet over the coming years.
That’s not pocket change. It’s the kind of spending plan that says Uber wants a bigger bite of the self-driving pie — and maybe wants to be the plate, too.
The partnership parade continues
The company is also stacking up partnerships like it’s trying to build the Avengers of AV:
- Lucid: Uber recently teamed up to buy 35,000 vehicles
- Pony AI: Uber launched Europe’s first commercial robotaxi service with the company
- WeRide and Baidu: more expansion in the UAE and London
For investors, this is the interesting part. Uber doesn’t need to invent every piece of the autonomy stack if it can orchestrate the ecosystem and take a cut when the cars start doing the driving.
The catch: AI is expensive, apparently
There’s also a less glamorous subplot: internal reports say Uber’s AI spending has been running hot. CTO Praveen Neppalli Naga reportedly said the company is “back to the drawing board” after the AI budget got blown past expectations. Uber spent $3.4 billion on R&D, and AI agents are already writing about 11% of live backend code.
That sounds futuristic, sure — but it also sounds like a company discovering that the robot revolution still comes with very human-sized bills.
Why investors care
The stock popping 5.31% to $76.78 shows Wall Street likes the strategic shift. But the real question is whether Uber can turn these AV deals from expensive science fair projects into something that actually moves margins.
Big picture: Uber is betting that autonomy will be the next big upgrade to its business model. If it works, great — it’s a platform story with wheels. If it doesn’t, it’s just a very pricey detour.