Uber's robotaxi service is set to debut in Houston in 2027.

      Uber is introducing its robotaxi service in Houston. The company announced on June 17 that it plans to roll out a premium driverless service in the city by mid-2027, marking the second U.S. location for its collaboration with electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid and self-driving startup Nuro. This move signals Uber’s strategy to compete with Waymo not by developing its own technology, but by integrating solutions from other firms.

      This initiative follows extensive efforts in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the same trio anticipates starting passenger services later this year. Uber states that it plans to eventually expand the program to "dozens of cities."

      A robotaxi giant without its own robots

      Compared to other leading robotaxi companies, Uber stands out as unique. It sold its internal self-driving division to Aurora in 2020 and has since formed over a dozen partnerships with developers of autonomous vehicles, believing it can serve as a platform for other companies' technologies.

      The Houston service exemplifies this strategy. Lucid provides the vehicle, a variant of its Gravity SUV; Nuro contributes the autonomous technology with its Level 4 "Nuro Driver" system; and Uber manages the network, finances, and operational aspects.

      Uber is making significant investments, pledging approximately $500 million each to Lucid and Nuro, along with plans to purchase at least 35,000 robotaxi-ready vehicles from Lucid in the coming years. This partnership offers crucial support for Lucid, which has faced challenges in scaling its EV sales, and for Nuro, which shifted in 2024 from delivery robots to licensing its technology.

      Directly into Waymo’s territory

      Houston is not an indifferent location; Waymo operates a commercial, fully driverless service there, as it does in San Francisco. This means Uber has chosen its initial two markets within areas where its rival is established.

      The dynamics between the two companies are complex. Uber and Waymo collaborate in Austin, Atlanta, and Phoenix, where Waymo rides can be booked through the Uber app, even as they compete in the cities where Uber is now entering with Lucid and Nuro.

      Waymo's leadership in the field serves as a backdrop to this competition. The company already provides hundreds of thousands of paid rides weekly, which has prompted other competitors, including Tesla, to seek market entry.

      Not quite driverless yet, and the cost burden falls on Uber

      However, there's a catch: the service isn't fully autonomous at this stage. Nuro is testing a combined fleet of nearly 100 vehicles in California and Texas, but they are operated on public roads with safety drivers present at all times.

      Last month, Nuro received a permit in California allowing it to operate without safety drivers, but the vehicles in the Bay Area are still monitored, and the mid-2027 timeline for Houston allows considerable scope for delays.

      Another challenge is financial. Uber owns and operates the fleet, which means it undertakes the heavy financial burdens of acquiring vehicles, managing depots, charging stations, and maintenance—the aspects of the business that even Waymo is striving to make profitable, partly through its pursuit of a less costly, specially-designed vehicle.

      In Houston, the physical presence is already expanding: a 50,000-square-foot depot is being established with 40 fast-charging stations and 15 maintenance bays, with construction expected to commence in early 2027. This development represents a significant departure from the asset-light model on which Uber was originally founded, indicating a strategic gamble that controlling operations, even if not the technology, is crucial to catching up with the market leader.