Uber, Nuro, and Lucid have picked Houston as the second city for their planned robotaxi service, with the launch in the Texas city expected in mid-2027.

The announcement follows the companies’ plans to launch their first robotaxi market in the San Francisco Bay Area later this year. Riders will be able to access the autonomous service exclusively through the Uber app.

Autonomous driving company Nuro is already testing vehicles on Houston’s public roads with safety operators behind the wheel. The company says the work is part of a broader testing program that includes simulations, closed-course testing, and supervised driving on public streets as it prepares for commercial service.

The robotaxi engineering fleet now includes nearly 100 vehicles operating across California and Texas around the clock. That fleet is expected to grow in the coming weeks as Lucid begins building production-validation robotaxis at its Arizona factory. Those vehicles will be used for safety testing and regulatory certification ahead of launch.

Uber is also putting infrastructure in place for the Houston rollout. The ride-hailing giant has secured a 50,000-square-foot depot and charging facility that will support a fleet of Lucid Gravity SUVs equipped with Nuro’s self-driving technology.

The site will handle charging, maintenance, repairs, cleaning, and other day-to-day fleet operations.

Nuro has maintained a presence in Houston since 2019 and has previously conducted Level 4 autonomous vehicle operations on public roads in the city.

Nuro COO Andrew Chapin said Houston’s size and complexity make it a good place to test how the company’s autonomous driving system performs across different environments.

The Houston announcement is the latest step in Uber, Nuro, and Lucid’s robotaxi partnership, first announced in July 2025. The companies have ambitious plans, calling for at least 35,000 autonomous vehicles globally across dozens of markets over the coming years.

The service will initially use Lucid Gravity electric SUVs and later add future Lucid midsize EVs. Both will be equipped with Nuro Driver, the company’s Level 4 autonomous driving platform.

The vehicles will carry cameras, lidar, radar sensors, and a roof-mounted sensor array. Uber is developing the “in-cabin experience,” including rider controls, personalization features, and customer support tools, while Nuro will provide the autonomy visualization system.

Like the Bay Area launch, the Houston robotaxis will be owned and operated by Uber and its fleet partners, and will be available exclusively through the Uber network.

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