Nuro receives driverless testing permit ahead of Uber robotaxi service launch

Nuro has been granted a licence to statesman driverless investigating of Lucid Gravity SUVs equipped with its autonomous tech connected California nationalist roads — vehicles that volition yet beryllium utilized successful Uber’s premium robotaxi service. But the Silicon Valley-based startup, backed by Nvidia and Uber, says it isn’t rather acceptable to begin.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles, the bureau that regulates the investigating and deployment of autonomous vehicles successful the state, confirmed to TechCrunch connected Tuesday that it modified Nuro’s driverless AV licence to see Lucid Gravity vehicles.

Nuro has held a driverless licence for six years, but it lone applied to run a low-speed transportation vehicle — a programme that was scrapped erstwhile the startup pivoted its concern exemplary to absorption connected licensing its exertion to companies similar Uber.

This latest driverless licence allows Nuro to trial the Lucid vehicles without a quality information relation down the wheel. Nuro spokesperson David Salguero told TechCrunch the institution expects to statesman driverless investigating aboriginal this year, without providing further accusation connected timing.

The driverless licence is 1 of galore regulatory hurdles that Nuro indispensable wide earlier Uber tin motorboat its premium robotaxi service. Nuro volition besides person to person a driverless ride-hailing licence from the California Public Utilities Commission and a deployment licence from the DMV.

For now, Nuro and Uber are investigating the Lucid vehicles successful autonomous mode with a quality information relation successful the driver’s seat. Last month, that investigating was expanded to let Uber employees to petition an autonomous thrust successful a Lucid robotaxi — with a quality information relation inactive connected committee — done the Uber app.

As Nuro makes advancement connected testing, Uber has upped its committedness to Lucid.

When the three-way woody was announced successful July 2025, Uber said it would put $300 cardinal successful Lucid and bargain 20,000 robotaxi-ready Gravity vehicles. That has since been expanded to $500 cardinal and a minimum of 35,000 robotaxis, with the statement changing to see astatine slightest 10,000 Gravity SUVs and 25,000 EVs built connected Lucid’s upcoming mid-size platform.

Those EVs volition beryllium equipped with Nuro’s autonomous conveyance system, which is powered by Nvidia’s Drive AGX Thor computer. The Lucid Gravity robotaxi, which was revealed successful January, is outfitted with high-resolution cameras, solid-state lidar sensors, and radars that assistance the self-driving strategy comprehend the real-world situation and run wrong it.

Uber has besides made a multimillion-dollar concern successful Nuro.

Lucid has delivered 75 engineering vehicles to Nuro and Uber and investigating and mileage accumulation is ongoing successful respective cities passim the United States, the EV shaper disclosed during its first-quarter net call connected Tuesday.

Lucid said Tuesday it is connected way for commercialized robotaxi operations to statesman successful precocious 2026. It is imaginable that those robotaxi operations volition not beryllium driverless oregon volition beryllium constricted successful immoderate different way, depending connected regulatory approvals.

Still, Lucid executives struck a affirmative code during the telephone noting that each the improvement and certifications are moving on arsenic expected.