Uber Commits $10 Billion to Deploy 120,000 Autonomous Vehicles in Global Robotaxi Push

Uber Technologies Inc. is committing approximately $10 billion to deploy a fleet of 120,000 autonomous vehicles across at least 15 cities this year, utilizing record cash reserves to solidify its role as the dominant commercial marketplace for self-driving transport.

The aggressive expansion comes as partner Wayve secured commercial testing permits from Transport for London, enabling public trials on British roads. Transport for London approved 15 of Wayve’s modified Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles to operate with a supervising safety driver behind the wheel. Alex Kendall, chief executive of Wayve, told the Financial Times that the authorization marks the UK’s first operating license for autonomous technology, with commercial rides expected to open to London passengers within a matter of weeks.

Uber is funding the capital-intensive push through surging operational performance. The San Francisco-based company generated a record $2.8 billion in free cash flow during the second quarter, bringing its 12-month free cash flow total to roughly $10.1 billion as global ride bookings expanded.

“We’re investing from a position of strength, as we accelerate our cross-platform strategy at a global scale and build the world’s largest platform for autonomous vehicles,” Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi said. “Our ambition is clear: to become the world’s leading commercialization platform for autonomous mobility.”

The multi-billion dollar commitment highlights a complete pivot from Uber’s former strategy. After dismantling its internal autonomous research division in 2020 to trim expenses, the company reinvented itself as an aggregator for third-party self-driving developers. Rather than building proprietary software, Uber is taking equity stakes and funding fleets for developers including Zoox, Rivian, and Lucid, while using hundreds of sensor-equipped vehicles to gather training data for its partners.

The strategy puts Uber in direct competition with Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo and Tesla Inc., both of which are racing to commercialize fully driverless taxicabs. Shareholder concern over potential disruption to Uber’s core human-driver model has weighed on the company, sending its stock down 13% in 2026. Uber executives maintain that its network of more than 200 million active consumers and complex trip-routing capabilities give it an unassailable advantage over standalone AV services.

Beyond self-driving technology, Chief Financial Officer Balaji Krishnamurthy confirmed Uber will continue leveraging its balance sheet to acquire international market share. The company has submitted a €13 billion offer for German food delivery enterprise Delivery Hero, having already invested approximately $4 billion to acquire a 37% stake ahead of its formal buyout bid to capture faster-growing territories in Europe and the Middle East.