Overview
- SEC filings on March 19 detailed an initial $300 million Uber investment routed through SMB Holding, with contingent tranches that could lift total funding to $1.25 billion and a Rivian commitment starting at 10,000 R2 vehicles with options up to 50,000 by 2031.
- Commercial service is planned to begin in San Francisco and Miami in 2028, with potential expansion to as many as 25 cities across North America and Europe by 2031.
- Rivian is building an in-house Level 4 self-driving system using its own sensors and RAP1 chips, yet the filing says the company “intends to develop” the stack, signaling the software and vehicle are still in development.
- Rivian said higher autonomy spending means adjusted EBITDA will not turn positive in 2027 and guided to a 2026 adjusted EBITDA loss of $1.8 billion to $2.1 billion, while its stock rose about 7% as investors weighed the R2 launch and the Uber deal.
- Uber’s multi-supplier robotaxi strategy mirrors a template it used with Lucid and Nuro, though Rivian differs by licensing its autonomy software to Uber, creating potential recurring software revenue alongside higher execution risk from pairing a new vehicle with a new self-driving stack.