Avride has been testing its Hyundai IONIQ 5 robotaxis on Dallas streets. [Photo: Avride/Medium]
Austin-based Avride has been “ramping up” testing of its self-driving vehicles in Dallas—which is slated to be the first city to host Avride and Uber’s robotaxi service later this year. And Avride got a big boost Wednesday when it announced a new $375 million investment and “commercial commitments” from Uber Technologies and the Amsterdam-based Nebius Group, amid the runup to the Dallas launch.
The investment builds on Avride’s existing partnership with Uber, after the companies signed a multi-year strategic agreement in 2024. As Dallas Innovates reported last October, the two companies have launched an Uber Eats sidewalk robot delivery service in Dallas using Avride’s autonomous delivery robots, in addition to the soon-to-launch robotaxi service. (The companies’ Uber Eats robot deliveries are also now underway in Austin and Jersey City, New Jersey, making “tens of thousands of deliveries” in total to date.)
Avride said the new funding will enable it to accelerate the growth of its fleet, support AI-driven product development, and expand its offering into new geographies.
Branding on an Avride robotaxi on an electric Hyundai IONIQ 5 platform. [Photo: Avride/Medium]
Avride’s IONIQ 5 robotaxis spotted in downtown Dallas
As we reported in March, Avride is partnering with Hyundai Motor Company to jointly develop and operate vehicles capable of “fully autonomous driving.” The collaboration is putting Avride’s self-driving tech in Hyundai’s electric IONIQ 5 SUV, paving the way for “future mobility solutions, such as robotaxis and autonomous delivery services.”
The autonomous Hyundai IONIQ 5 vehicles—wrapped in Avride’s lavender branding and sporting Uber logos—have become a regular sight in downtown Dallas and in nearby neighborhoods, as the partners fine-tune the robotaxis for the late-2025 public ride-hailing launch.
“At Avride, we can’t wait to bring our robotaxi service to Dallas,” CEO Dmitry Polishchuk said in a statement last month. “With our autonomous delivery robots already trusted by customers on Uber Eats, we’re excited to expand that experience to passenger rides on Uber, bringing scalable autonomy to urban mobility.”
Sarfraz Maredia, head of autonomous mobility & delivery at Uber, said Uber riders will soon have “a new way to move around the city, marking another step toward making autonomous transportation part of everyday life.”
More on the $375M investment
Addressing Uber’s participation in the $375 million Avride investment, Maredia said in a statement that his company is “excited to continue deepening our partnership with Avride and look forward to introducing their impressive autonomous driving technologies to more people in more markets.”
Arkady Volozh, founder and CEO of Nebius Group, said Nebius “is delighted to welcome Uber as a strategic investor that shares Avride’s vision and will enable the company to move further and faster in pioneering AI-driven autonomous transportation.”
“At Avride, we have a clear vision and a strong plan to make autonomous transportation an integral part of everyday life,” Polishchuk added. “We’re thrilled to have world-class partners like Uber who share this vision and continue to support us.”
Waymo and Lyft planning Dallas robotaxi launches in 2026
Avride and Uber’s robotaxis may not be the only self-driving service in town for long.
In July, Waymo announced its own plans to launch a robotaxi service in Dallas in 2026—with reports noting that Waymo had begun testing on the city’s streets.
And last February, Lyft, the San Francisco-based ride-sharing giant, announced plans to roll out a robotaxi service in Dallas “as soon as 2026.”
Don’t miss what’s next. Subscribe to Dallas Innovates.
Track Dallas-Fort Worth’s business and innovation landscape with our curated news in your inbox Tuesday-Thursday.
R E A D N E X T
-
North Texas has plenty to see, hear, and watch. Here are our editors’ picks. Plus, you’ll find more selections to “save the date.”
-
D CEO and Dallas Innovates have expanded The Innovation Awards 2026 with more individual and company categories this year. Now is your chance to be part of the region’s defining recognition for innovators.
-
Data scientist Anmolika Singh put Dallas on the global AI Tinkerers map. At the first meetup, more than 30 pros—founders to Fortune 500 technologists—showed up to trade ideas, projects, and solutions.
-
The BMW Dallas Marathon is gearing up for its 2025 race weekend, to be held in a long, winding course around White Rock Lake December 12–14. One way it’s doing that is by unveiling “a bold new logo” featuring a modern take on the Pegasus—Dallas’ celebrated icon—stretching its neck out toward victory. Along with a refreshed merchandise collection, the updated visual identity “reflects the organization’s evolution as a premier running event and its deep connection to the Dallas community,” organizers said.
-
UT Dallas researcher Dr. Walter Voit transformed Minecraft’s 170-million-player universe into an advanced virtual training ground—for students and for AI agents tested by DARPA. His team’s Polycraft World uses gameplay to turn classroom theory into real-world expertise, covering topics from synthetic organic chemistry to nuclear plants to semiconductor facilities. Their new startup company, Pedegree Studios, has licensed the core technologies from the university to create a scalable digital pipeline for education and workforce development.