Uber is investing hundreds of millions of dollars into Lucid and autonomous vehicle technology startup Nuro in a bid to launch its own robotaxi service.

The partnership will combine Uber's ride-sharing platform with Lucid's new electric SUV, the Gravity, and Nuro's autonomous driving technology. It'll be launching first in an unnamed "major US city," but is expected to roll out globally to more than 20,000 Lucid vehicles over the next six years.

Lucid’s stock zooms to best day in months after Uber becomes the EV maker’s latest backer and the companies hatch a plan to launch robotaxis.

Key Takeaways Lucid shares jumped 36% Thursday on news the EV startup is partnering with self-driving software maker Nuro and rideshare giant Uber Technologies to bring a new group of robotaxis to Uber's platform.

Uber just announced a deal today with the company that runs one of the largest robotaxi fleets in China, as the ridehail giant nears its goal of becoming the world’s ultimate autonomous vehicle clearinghouse.

That makes Uber a logical partner for autonomous vehicle (AV) companies. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi sees robotaxis as at $1 trillion opportunity in the U.S. alone, and he recently told analysts, "Uber can deliver the lowest operational costs for our AV partners because we are leaps and bounds ahead on every aspect of the go-to-market capabilities."

Tesla only recently launched its first robotaxi pilot program in limited parts of Austin, Texas. Uber strikes game-changing deal to unleash 'Tesla killer': 'Next-generation premium global robotaxi program' first appeared on The Cool Down.

Uber has partnered with a number of firms for robotaxi services, but this latest alliance is getting more attention than most.