Shares of Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:RIVN) rose more than 4% on Thursday after Uber Technologies said it will invest up to $1.25 billion in the electric vehicle maker as part of a partnership to deploy autonomous vehicles starting in 2028.
The stock initially climbed as much as 9% in premarket trading before paring gains.
Under the agreement, Uber will begin with an initial $300 million investment, with the remainder funded through 2031 subject to Rivian meeting certain autonomous-driving milestones, the companies said.
The partnership centers on the planned deployment of 10,000 fully autonomous Rivian R2 SUVs as robotaxis on Uber’s platform, with initial rollouts targeted for San Francisco and Miami in 2028. The companies also said Uber would have the option to purchase up to 40,000 additional vehicles starting in 2030.
Rivian, known for its R1S SUVs and R1T pickup trucks, has yet to launch a robotaxi service but has been investing in its autonomous capabilities, including unveiling a custom self-driving chip in December. The company is preparing to launch its smaller R2 SUVs this quarter.
Uber has been expanding its role as a platform for autonomous vehicle operators, partnering across the industry with companies including Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo unit, Baidu Inc. and Lucid Group.
Wedbush analysts said the Uber deal represents a “landmark partnership” that helps validate Rivian’s R2 platform and improves visibility on demand and capital as the company scales production, while also advancing its autonomous vehicle roadmap.
“We view this as RIVN fully leaning into the autonomy at a crucial period with the commercial opportunity materializing,” analysts wrote.
“The Uber deal announced today combined with the ~$2 billion from Volkswagen’s JV capital commitment gives us incremental confidence in the durability of the long-term RIVN growth story as the company enters what we view as a true inflection year.”