San Francisco (United States) (AFP) – Uber and Nvidia on Tuesday announced an alliance to deploy 100,000 robotaxis starting in 2027. “Together with Uber, we’re creating a framework for the entire industry to deploy autonomous fleets at scale, powered by Nvidia AI infrastructure,” Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said in a release.
Nvidia also said it was working with car makers Stellantis, Lucid, and Mercedes-Benz to “bridge today’s human-driven mobility with the autonomous fleets of tomorrow.” The partnerships come as AI chip star Nvidia works to put itself at the core of self-driving vehicle systems.
“Robotaxis mark the beginning of a global transformation in mobility — making transportation safer, cleaner and more efficient,” Huang said. “What was once science fiction is fast becoming an everyday reality.” Artificial intelligence, along with super-fast, reliable internet connectivity, promises to be essential to cars reacting safely and smartly on the road.
“Nvidia is the backbone of the AI era and is now fully harnessing that innovation to unleash L4 (Level-4) autonomy at enormous scale,” said Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi. Level-4 autonomous vehicles can handle driving demands independently. It was unclear whether Uber planned to have human drivers in robotaxis as a safety measure in areas where such precaution is not mandated by regulations.
The companies did not provide details of how quickly robotaxis would roll out or who would make them. “Ride-hailing platforms such as Uber are the ideal channels to deploy robotaxis at scale,” Marc Amblard, managing director of Orsay Consulting, told AFP. “Nvidia is the natural compute tech partner, working side by side with carmakers.”
Uber currently lets users in a few US cities hail robotaxis operating by Google-owned Waymo. Uber may turn to Waymo or Chinese autonomous car companies for some of the technology needed, according to Amblard. Waymo recently announced plans to launch its robotaxis in London next year. London would mark the first foray into Europe for Waymo, already present in a growing number of US cities.
Chinese internet giant Baidu earlier this year announced plans to launch robotaxis on the rideshare app Lyft in Germany and Britain in 2026, pending regulatory approval. Baidu had announced a similar agreement with Uber in Asia and the Middle East as it seeks to take pole position in the competitive autonomous driving field both at home and abroad.
China’s tech companies and automakers have poured billions of dollars into self-driving technology in recent years, with intelligent driving the new battleground in the country’s cutthroat domestic car market. Baidu is not alone among Chinese companies in searching to expand its foothold abroad.
© 2024 AFP
