Uber Gears Up: 700 Robotaxis Hitting the Streets by Year's End

Uber, the company that made ordering a car from your phone completely normal, is preparing for a massive shift in how we travel. By the end of this year, the company plans to assemble a fleet of 700 autonomous vehicles—widely known as robotaxis—with plans to start picking up regular passengers in San Francisco and Houston early next year.

Rather than building its own self-driving cars from scratch, Uber is teaming up with autonomous tech developers. Uber supplies the app, millions of active riders, and city-specific know-how, while its technology partners provide the lidar sensors, cameras, and artificial intelligence software needed to steer, brake, and make split-second road decisions.