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Nuro, Inc. is an American autonomous vehicle technology company based in Mountain View, California. Founded in 2016 by Jiajun Zhu and Dave Ferguson,[2] Nuro develops autonomous delivery vehicles and became the first company to receive an autonomous exemption from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).[3]

Key Information

History

[edit]

The company was founded by engineers of Google's self-driving car project, Waymo. Jiajun Zhu served as the principal software engineer and Dave Ferguson joined in 2011 as the principal machine learning engineer.[4][5] Both left Waymo in 2016 and founded Nuro that September.[6]

Nuro officially launched and showcased its first product, an electric self-driving local commerce delivery vehicle, in January 2018 with $92 million in funding from Greylock Partners and Gaorong Capital.[7] Known as the R1, it weighed 1,500 pounds (680 kg) and was just over 6 feet (1.8 m) tall, about half the width of a sedan.[8] This vehicle was designed to carry only cargo, with space for 12 grocery bags in the first model.[8]

In June 2018, Nuro announced its first partnership with Kroger to test the fully autonomous delivery of groceries.[9]

The pilot launched on August 16, 2018, in Scottsdale, Arizona at a Fry's Food and Drug store. Initially, self-driving Toyota Prius cars were used for the pilot.[10][11][12] On December 18, 2018, the R1 was officially launched into the pilot.[13]

In February 2019, Nuro raised $940 million from SoftBank Group, which valued the company at $2.7 billion.[14]

On June 17, 2019, Nuro announced its partnership with Domino's Pizza[15] to launch in Houston later that year.[16]

In February 2020, Nuro began testing the R2, the second generation of self-driving vehicles, in Houston, Texas.[17] In April 2020, Nuro announced that the R2 prototype was being used to transport medical supplies around medical facilities in California.[18] The R2 was designed with no steering wheel, side view mirrors, or pedals.[19]

The company began prescription delivery through CVS Pharmacy in May 2020.[20] In November 2020, Nuro announced that they raised $500 million in their Series C funding round led by T. Rowe Price, with a post-money valuation of $5 billion.[21]

In December 2020, Nuro acquired self-driving trucking startup Ike Robotics.[22] Over 55 Ike employees joined Nuro's staff after the acquisition.[23][24]

Nuro announced its compact autonomous vehicle R3 design in January 2021.[25]

In August 2021, Nuro announced that it would spend $40 million on the construction of a manufacturing facility and test track for its self-driving robot vehicles, located in southern Nevada.[26] In December 2021, Nuro announced a partnership to commercially deliver 7-Eleven goods.[27]

In September 2022, Uber and Nuro announced a 10-year partnership for autonomous food deliveries, starting in California and Texas.[28] In November 2022, Nuro laid off 20 percent of its staff, or approximately 300 employees.[1] In May 2023, Nuro laid off 30 percent of its staff, or approximately 340 employees.[29]

In February 2024, the company launched a collaboration with Arm Holdings to develop its third-generation autonomous delivery vehicle.[30]

In July 2025, a partnership was established between Nuro, Uber, and Lucid Motors to launch a robotaxi fleet. Uber will purchase and operate Lucid Gravity SUV vehicles outfitted with Nuro Driver autonomous driving technology.[31][32] The partnership anticipates launching its first vehicle in 2026, with plans to deploy at least 20,000 robotaxis over the next six years.[31][32]

See also

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References

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Nuro

View on Grokipedia
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Nuro is an American robotics and autonomous vehicle company founded in 2016 by Jiajun Zhu and Dave Ferguson, both former engineers at Google's project. The company specializes in developing driverless vehicles designed exclusively for transporting goods, such as groceries and packages, rather than passengers, with the goal of transforming last-mile delivery by improving efficiency, reducing emissions, and enhancing road safety through AI-powered . Nuro's flagship technology, the Nuro Driver™, is a Level 4 autonomous system that has been deployed across nine platforms and has logged over 1.4 million driverless miles with zero at-fault incidents as of 2024. In February 2020, Nuro became the first company to receive a temporary exemption from the (NHTSA) for its second-generation R2 , waiving certain federal safety standards like mirrors and windshield requirements due to the absence of human occupants. Later that year, in December 2020, the (DMV) issued Nuro the nation's first autonomous deployment permit, allowing commercial operations without a safety driver in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. These milestones enabled partnerships with retailers like , , and for pilot delivery programs in states including , , and . In September 2024, Nuro expanded its beyond building its own vehicles to licensing the Nuro Driver™ and its accompanying AI platform to automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and mobility providers, aiming to integrate advanced autonomy into passenger cars, ride-hailing fleets, and commercial logistics. This shift includes collaborations with for the DRIVE Thor™ computing platform and for Neoverse™ processors to support scalable, safety-certified deployments. Headquartered in , Nuro has since deployed its third-generation R3 vehicle driverlessly in Bay Area cities and Houston, Texas, following DMV approval in July 2024. In 2025, the company raised $203 million in Series E funding at a $6 billion valuation, announced a partnership with Lucid and to deploy over 20,000 robotaxis, and appointed co-founder Dave Ferguson as co-CEO. In January 2026, Uber, Lucid Motors, and Nuro unveiled a production-intent robotaxi based on the Lucid Gravity SUV at CES in Las Vegas, with autonomous on-road testing underway in the San Francisco Bay Area since December 2025 and plans for a public launch later in 2026 exclusively via the Uber app.

Founding and History

Founding

Nuro was founded in 2016 in , by Jiajun Zhu and Dave Ferguson, both veterans of Google's early project, which later evolved into . Zhu, who holds a from the and had led perception technologies at Google including work on Street View, brought expertise in AI and . Ferguson, with a PhD in robotics from and experience directing efforts at Google, had previously contributed to the Urban Challenge. Their departure from Google was facilitated by substantial payouts from the company's bonus program, providing the initial capital to launch the venture. The founders' initial motivation centered on developing purpose-built autonomous vehicles tailored for last-mile delivery, aiming to tackle urban logistics challenges such as , high delivery costs, and environmental impact. Unlike passenger-focused autonomous systems, Nuro prioritized zero-occupancy vehicles designed exclusively for goods transport, arguing that this approach would enhance by eliminating human-related risks on roads and improve efficiency for everyday commerce. This vision stemmed from their observations at , where they recognized the potential for to transform routine tasks like grocery or without the complexities of carrying passengers. In its early days, Nuro operated from a modest rental near Google's campus in Mountain View, reflecting its bootstrapped beginnings. The team started small, comprising just the two founders, and quickly expanded by recruiting a core group of AI and specialists from Silicon Valley's talent pool, including early hires like engineer Cosimo Leipold. This lean formation emphasized interdisciplinary expertise to prototype delivery-focused autonomous systems, setting the stage for Nuro's emphasis on scalable, AI-driven solutions for local goods movement.

Key Milestones

Nuro launched its first-generation autonomous delivery vehicle, the R1, in 2018, marking the company's initial step into on-road unmanned operations. On August 16 of that year, Nuro initiated its inaugural commercial pilot partnership with , deploying the R1 for grocery deliveries in , beginning with supervised tests using modified vehicles before transitioning to fully unmanned R1 units later in the fall. In 2019, Nuro secured $940 million in funding from the , the largest investment in the company to date, which supported fleet expansion and technology development. Later that year, on June 17, Nuro announced a partnership with Pizza to test autonomous pizza deliveries using the R2 vehicle in , , expanding its focus on food service applications. In November 2020, on November 9, the company closed a $500 million Series C funding round led by Associates, valuing Nuro at $5 billion. In December 2020, Nuro acquired Ike Robotics, a self-driving trucking startup, to integrate advanced for larger freight applications. The year 2020 also saw Nuro advance its vehicle platform with the introduction and testing of the second-generation R2, which received a groundbreaking exemption from the (NHTSA) in February, allowing deployment of up to 5,000 units without certain passenger vehicle safety features like mirrors or windshields. In January 2022, Nuro unveiled its third-generation vehicle, the R3, designed for scalable production with features like external pedestrian airbags and increased cargo capacity, in partnership with BYD for manufacturing. Advancing commercial operations, Nuro partnered with on December 1, 2021, to launch California's first commercial autonomous delivery service in Mountain View, offering on-demand items via the R2. On September 8, 2022, Nuro entered a 10-year partnership with Uber to integrate autonomous delivery vehicles into Uber Eats, starting with pilots in Houston, Texas, and Mountain View, California, to enable driverless food and grocery transport. In February 2024, Nuro collaborated with Arm on a multi-year partnership to optimize AI hardware for its Nuro Driver system, leveraging Arm's Automotive Enhanced technology to enhance computational efficiency for commercial-scale autonomy. In September 2024, Nuro expanded its business model by announcing plans to license the Nuro Driver™ and AI platform to automotive OEMs and mobility providers, facilitating integration into passenger vehicles and fleets. In 2025, Nuro expanded into passenger mobility with a July 17 partnership alongside Uber and Lucid Motors to develop a robotaxi program using the Lucid Gravity SUV equipped with Nuro's autonomous technology, targeting a 2026 launch with initial deployments exceeding 20,000 vehicles. On August 21, the company closed a $203 million Series E funding round, bringing total funding to over $2.3 billion and supporting global expansion. On October 22, co-founder Dave Ferguson was appointed co-CEO alongside Jiajun Zhu to drive commercial acceleration. On October 29, Uber announced the Bay Area as the first market for the robotaxi program, with deployments planned to begin in 2026.

Corporate Profile

Leadership

Nuro is led by co-founders Jiajun Zhu and Dave Ferguson, who serve as co-CEOs. Zhu, who oversees product development and technology, previously worked as a principal software engineer at and was a founding member of its program, now known as ; he holds a master's and bachelor's in from the and , respectively, and has contributed to over 100 patents. Ferguson, appointed co-CEO on October 22, 2025, after serving as president, focuses on capital raising and commercial partnerships to scale global operations; he also hails from Google's self-driving project, where he was a principal engineer, and earlier led teams at Carnegie Mellon University that won the DARPA Urban Challenge; he earned an MS and PhD in robotics from Carnegie Mellon and a bachelor's in computer science and mathematics from the University of Otago, with over 100 patents and more than 60 academic publications to his name. The executive team includes Andrew Chapin, who manages day-to-day operations; Chief Legal Officer James Owens, responsible for legal and compliance matters; and several vice presidents in engineering, such as Jack Guo (AI Platform), Tilo Schwarz (Nuro Driver), and Matt Renna (Vehicle Platform & Hardware). Nuro's leadership emphasizes an AI-first approach to , fostering cross-functional teams that leverage the founders' extensive experience from Google's self-driving initiatives and . The board of directors features representatives from key investors, including partners from such as John Lilly and Simon Rothman, with major backers encompassing SoftBank, , and Associates.

Funding and Valuation

Nuro has raised a total of approximately $2.3 billion across seven funding rounds as of August 2025. The company's initial Series A round in January 2018 secured $92 million, led by and Gaorong Capital. In February 2019, Nuro completed a $940 million Series B financing from the , which valued the startup at $2.7 billion post-money. The Series C round, announced in November 2020, raised $500 million led by funds advised by Associates, elevating the company's valuation to $5 billion. A $600 million Series D investment followed in November 2021, spearheaded by with participation from and existing investors, pushing Nuro's valuation to $8.6 billion. In 2025, Nuro closed its Series E round for a total of $203 million, comprising an initial $106 million in from investors including , Fidelity Management & Research Company, and , followed by an additional $97 million in August led by and , with participation from , Icehouse Ventures, Kindred Ventures, and Pledge Ventures; this round set the company's at $6 billion, reflecting a 30% decline from the prior peak amid broader market conditions in autonomous vehicle investments. These investments have primarily supported in AI-powered autonomous , prototyping, and the scaling of commercial partnerships for delivery and mobility services.

Technology

Autonomous Driving System

The Nuro Driver™ is a scalable AI platform designed for Level 4 (L4) , enabling fully driverless operation in defined operational domains without human intervention. It integrates , , and to process environmental data in real time, powering autonomous across various platforms. This AI-first mimics safe human driving behaviors while incorporating modular safeguards to ensure reliability in diverse conditions. At its core, the Nuro Driver employs end-to-end neural networks for , , and , allowing the system to directly map sensor inputs to vehicle actions without traditional modular pipelines. These networks enable robust scene understanding and decision-making, contributing to the platform's proven safety record of over 1.4 million autonomous miles driven with zero at-fault incidents as of 2025. This mileage accumulation, spanning more than five years of real-world driverless deployments, validates the system's dependability in urban, suburban, and highway environments. The hardware supporting the Nuro Driver features a multi-lidar configuration, high-resolution cameras, and imaging radars arranged for redundant, 360-degree coverage, enhancing detection of obstacles and dynamic objects. Custom compute systems, optimized through a 2024 collaboration with for Arm's automotive-enhanced technology, leverage efficient AI processing, with additional support from NVIDIA's DRIVE Thor™ computing platform for scalable, safety-certified deployments. is further bolstered by redundant braking and steering mechanisms, alongside advanced obstacle avoidance protocols that prioritize collision prevention. Nuro was the first autonomous vehicle company to receive a temporary exemption from the (NHTSA) in 2020—following a 2018 petition—for deploying low-speed driverless vehicles without certain federal safety standards like mirrors and windshield wipers, deemed unnecessary for its cargo-only design. Additionally, the (DMV) issued Nuro its first driverless testing permit in 2020 and a commercial deployment permit in late 2020, allowing unsupervised operations for goods delivery. Looking ahead, Nuro's AI advancements emphasize Artificial General (AGR), aiming to extend the Nuro Driver's capabilities beyond delivery to multi-domain applications, such as broader mobility and scenarios, including the 4th generation hardware enabling Level 4 on highways as of September 2025. This vision focuses on developing versatile AI systems that adapt to varied tasks, building on the platform's L4 foundations for widespread societal benefits.

Vehicle Platforms

Nuro's vehicle platforms are purpose-built autonomous electric vehicles optimized for cargo delivery in urban environments, featuring no steering wheels, pedals, or mirrors to enable full Level 4 autonomy. These platforms emphasize compact form factors, energy efficiency, and pedestrian safety, with each generation building on the previous to increase capacity and scalability. Integrated with the Nuro autonomous system, they prioritize low-speed operations in residential and commercial areas to minimize environmental impact and road congestion. The R1, unveiled in , marked Nuro's entry into autonomous delivery hardware as a , unmanned pod designed solely for transporting on public roads. Weighing about 1,500 pounds and standing 6 feet tall, it measured half the width of a standard sedan to navigate narrow streets efficiently, with a cargo capacity equivalent to 12 grocery bags secured in insulated compartments. Constructed from ultra-light materials, the R1 focused on core functionality for early testing, achieving a balance of and simplicity without human controls. Introduced in , the R2 represented a significant evolution with a pedal- and mirror-less design tailored for commercial-scale in diverse urban conditions, such as grocery and deliveries. Measuring 108 inches long, 43 inches wide, and 73 inches high, it had a gross of 2,535 pounds and a capacity of 419 pounds across 22.38 cubic feet of storage, doubling the R1's volume for larger orders. The platform incorporated advanced sensors and electric for cautious, low-emission operation at speeds up to 25 mph, enhancing through a pedestrian-protecting front end. The R3, launched in , further refined the platform for as Nuro's first automotive-grade delivery vehicle, emphasizing improved , , and fleet scalability. Approximately 20% narrower than the average passenger car, it achieves a top speed of 45 mph and carries up to 500 pounds in 27 cubic feet of , accommodating about 24 grocery bags with optional temperature-controlled inserts for hot or cold items. Unique safety innovations include external airbags for pedestrian protection and self-cleaning sensors, powered by a 52 kWh battery for extended urban routes. Nuro's platforms demonstrate adaptability through licensing agreements, such as the 2025 collaboration with and to integrate the Nuro Driver into the Lucid Gravity SUV for applications, enabling driverless passenger transport for ride-hailing in dense city environments without human drivers or interfaces. This modular approach allows vehicle designs to support varied payloads while maintaining a focus on safety and efficiency across commercial fleets.

Products and Operations

Delivery Solutions

Nuro's delivery solutions center on unmanned autonomous pods designed specifically for last-mile logistics, transporting goods such as groceries, prepared meals, and pharmaceuticals in urban environments. These zero-occupant vehicles address key challenges in traditional delivery by eliminating the need for human drivers, thereby reducing risks associated with human error, traffic congestion, and inefficient routing in densely populated areas. By leveraging AI-driven navigation, the pods enable precise, on-demand deliveries directly to customers' doorsteps, enhancing efficiency for retailers and consumers alike. The vehicles feature modular cargo compartments with a capacity of up to 500 pounds and 27 cubic feet, accommodating diverse payloads like grocery bags or meal containers while maintaining secure, temperature-controlled storage where needed. Operations involve seamless integration with retailer systems, allowing automated from store to vehicle; customers track deliveries and receive notifications via a , with remote human monitoring available for oversight during transit. This setup supports scalable, 24/7 service in operational zones, navigating complex urban streets at speeds up to 45 mph. Nuro's fleet is entirely battery-electric, contributing to reduced emissions compared to conventional delivery vans and aligning with broader goals in . The company's autonomous technology has achieved over five years of Level 4 (L4) driverless operations on public roads by 2025, accumulating more than 1.4 million autonomous miles with zero at-fault incidents, which underscores its reliability in minimizing environmental and impacts. Projections from Nuro's analyses indicate that widespread adoption could avoid up to 407 million tons of CO2 emissions from 2025 to 2035 through efficient, shared electric fleets. As of November 2025, Nuro's driverless operations have expanded to include County and , TX, supporting broader commercial scalability. Since September 2024, Nuro has operated on a B2B model, licensing its autonomous system to fleet operators and retailers for integration into their networks, enabling customized deployments without Nuro owning the end-to-end service. Early commercial pilots, such as the 2021 partnership with in —which marked the state's inaugural autonomous commercial delivery service for on-demand convenience items—served as precursors to this licensing approach, demonstrating the technology's viability for safe, efficient operations.

Robotaxi and Mobility Services

In 2025, Nuro shifted its primary focus from goods delivery to developing programs, leveraging its Nuro Driver™ system for integration into partner-owned vehicles. This pivot was supported by a $106 million funding round in April, aimed at licensing its self-driving technology to automakers and mobility platforms, followed by a $203 million Series E extension in August to accelerate commercial partnerships. The move expanded Nuro's application of its AI-first platform—previously optimized for unmanned delivery—to passenger-carrying scenarios, enabling broader deployment of Level 4 without requiring custom vehicle builds. A cornerstone of this expansion is Nuro's July 2025 collaboration with and to deploy a fleet of over 20,000 autonomous Lucid Gravity SUVs equipped with the Nuro Driver™. In January 2026, the partners unveiled production-intent vehicles for this global robotaxi service at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The initiative targets urban ride-hailing services, with owning and operating the vehicles through third-party partners in dozens of U.S. and international markets, starting with a launch in the later in 2026. Autonomous on-road testing in the Bay Area began in December 2025 using supervised engineering prototypes. Lucid will integrate the necessary hardware at its factory, with production expected to start later in 2026 pending final validation, producing the vehicles for exclusive use via the Uber app to provide premium, electric autonomous rides. Nuro adapted its autonomy stack for mixed-use passenger vehicles by emphasizing scalability and passenger safety, incorporating low-cost, automotive-grade sensors and software trained on data from over 150 U.S. cities and closed-course testing in . The system builds on a five-year record of zero at-fault incidents in driverless operations, using a Federated Safety Framework that includes redundant fail-safes and real-time monitoring to protect riders in dynamic urban environments. Looking ahead, Nuro envisions a unified mobility that seamlessly integrates delivery and ride-hailing services, powered by all-roads to achieve global accessibility and reduce transportation barriers. This includes ongoing international testing in and expansion to support diverse vehicle types for sustainable urban mobility.

Partnerships and Deployments

Major Collaborations

Nuro established its first major strategic alliance in June 2018 with , the largest chain in the United States, to integrate Nuro's autonomous delivery vehicles into Kroger's same-day grocery fulfillment operations, aiming to enhance last-mile logistics efficiency and market reach in urban areas. In June 2019, Nuro partnered with , the world's largest pizza company, to incorporate its unmanned vehicles into Domino's delivery ecosystem, focusing on technology integration for contactless food transport and expanding Nuro's access to quick-service restaurant networks. In December 2019, Nuro announced a partnership with to pilot autonomous grocery deliveries using Nuro vehicles for online orders in , , aiming to improve efficiency in last-mile retail and customer access to goods. Nuro expanded into healthcare logistics through a May 2020 collaboration with , leveraging its autonomous fleet to support secure prescription and essential goods delivery, thereby gaining entry into the pharmaceutical retail sector and advancing integrations for sensitive cargo handling. In June 2021, Nuro entered a multi-year strategic partnership with to test and deploy autonomous vehicles for last-mile package deliveries in , , focusing on multi-stop operations to optimize efficiency and scale commercial applications. A December 2021 agreement with marked Nuro's push into convenience retail, enabling the integration of Nuro's vehicles into 7-Eleven's nationwide for goods delivery, with goals centered on scaling commercial autonomous operations across diverse store formats. Nuro initiated a long-term partnership with in September 2022, a 10-year deal to embed its autonomous delivery technology into ' platform for food and goods transport, providing Nuro with extensive through Uber's global user base and ride-hailing . This expanded in July to include joint development, combining Nuro's AI-driven autonomy with Uber's mobility services for broader passenger and freight applications. In July 2025, Nuro collaborated with as part of the initiative, co-designing electric vehicles optimized for Nuro's autonomous systems to equip 's fleet, focusing on hardware-software synergy to accelerate deployment of purpose-built autonomous EVs in ride-hailing. Building on this collaboration, in January 2026, Nuro, Uber, and Lucid Motors unveiled a production-intent robotaxi based on the Lucid Gravity SUV at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The vehicle incorporates Nuro's autonomous driving technology with Lucid's electric platform, featuring a multi-modal sensor array—including high-resolution cameras, solid-state lidar, and radars—for 360-degree perception, a roof-mounted halo module with integrated LEDs for rider identification, and NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor for real-time AI processing. It supports up to six passengers with ample luggage space and includes interactive screens for rider controls and visualizations. Autonomous on-road testing commenced in December 2025 in the San Francisco Bay Area under supervised conditions, with commercial service launch planned for later in 2026 exclusively on the Uber platform, targeting deployment of over 20,000 units across U.S. and international markets. In March 2025, Nuro partnered with to accelerate the development and deployment of autonomous driving solutions, leveraging 's infrastructure and platforms for scalable go-to-market strategies in commercial vehicles. Nuro secured as both an investor and AI technology partner in August 2025 through its Series E funding, integrating 's DRIVE platforms to enhance Nuro's computational capabilities for real-time perception and decision-making in autonomous operations. In October 2025, Nuro announced a partnership with Foretellix to accelerate safe deployment of autonomous vehicles through advanced scenario-based verification and synthetic sensor data generation for AI-powered systems. Earlier, in February 2024, Nuro entered a multi-year partnership with Arm Holdings to adopt Arm's Automotive Enhanced technology for powering its next-generation autonomous platforms, emphasizing energy-efficient hardware to support scalable AI processing in commercial vehicles.

Pilot Programs and Commercial Rollouts

Nuro's pilot programs commenced in August 2018 with a partnership with in , marking one of the earliest real-world tests of autonomous grocery delivery, where the company completed thousands of trips using initially accompanied vehicles before transitioning to unmanned operations by December 2018. This initiative focused on same-day and next-day deliveries from a single Fry's Food Stores location, charging a flat fee of $5.95 per order with no minimum purchase required. Building on this foundation, Nuro expanded its pilots in 2019 through a collaboration with Pizza in , , announcing plans for autonomous pizza deliveries using the R2 vehicle on public roads, with initial testing beginning later that year and full unmanned operations piloted in 2021. In 2020, Nuro introduced its R2 vehicle for medical supply and prescription deliveries in partnership with in , enabling contactless curbside drop-offs within three hours of ordering via the CVS app or website at no extra cost to customers. In 2020, Nuro launched a pilot with in , , delivering online grocery orders to select customers using autonomous vehicles to test integration into retail fulfillment. By 2021, Nuro achieved its first commercial autonomous delivery rollout with in , offering on-road unmanned services for convenience store items to select customers. In June 2021, Nuro began testing with in for multi-stop package deliveries using autonomous vehicles, focusing on last-mile logistics integration. These efforts expanded further in 2022 with broader commercial operations in , including increased deployment areas for grocery and retail deliveries. In November 2024, Nuro expanded its operational areas for driverless services, including a 70% increase in , alongside advancements in AI capabilities for the Nuro Driver™. Nuro's scale achievements include over 1.4 million autonomous miles driven across its fleet with zero at-fault incidents as of 2025, demonstrating the reliability of its technology in real-world conditions. The company secured its first autonomous vehicle deployment permit from the DMV in December 2020, enabling commercial operations without a safety driver in designated Bay Area counties, building on earlier testing approvals in from 2018. In 2025, Nuro advanced toward larger-scale rollouts, including preparations for a robotaxi program in collaboration with and , with test vehicles deployed on roads in ahead of a planned 2026 launch targeting 20,000 units across U.S. and international markets. Nuro's deployments have primarily concentrated in , , and , with ongoing plans for national expansion to support broader adoption of autonomous delivery and mobility services.

Challenges and Future Outlook

Workforce and Restructuring

Nuro's workforce expanded rapidly during its growth phase, reaching a peak of approximately 1,400 employees in late 2022. In 2022, the company implemented layoffs affecting about 20% of its staff, equivalent to roughly 300 employees, with impacts concentrated in and operations amid a broader market slowdown in the autonomous vehicle sector. These reductions were accompanied by severance packages of 12 weeks' pay, extending to 14 weeks for employees with two or more years of tenure. By May 2023, Nuro underwent another significant , laying off an additional 30% of its remaining , or about 340 employees, to discontinue non-core projects and refocus resources on commercial priorities and core R&D efforts. This round also included 12 weeks of severance, plus extensions for longer-tenured staff, and prioritized the retention of AI specialists to support ongoing autonomous technology development. Post-restructuring, Nuro's headcount stabilized at around 700 employees by early 2025, growing to approximately 1,000 by late 2025 as the company continues to emphasize AI talent retention. The organization operates a remote-hybrid model, mandating three office days per week—including Thursdays—at its headquarters, to cultivate an innovative culture centered on advancing autonomous delivery technologies.

Regulatory and Safety Developments

Nuro's safety record underscores its operational maturity, with over 1.4 million autonomous miles driven in Level 4 operations across more than five years without any at-fault incidents as of 2025. The company employs rigorous testing protocols, including multimodal simulations that replicate real-world scenarios using historical data, closed-course track testing, and on-road validation with sensor-equipped vehicles to iteratively refine its autonomous systems. While Nuro reports zero at-fault crashes, it has documented minor non-fault incidents during pilots, such as low-speed contacts initiated by other road users, all resolved without injuries or significant damage in compliance with state reporting requirements. Regulatory challenges persist as Nuro expands into services, with ongoing NHTSA reviews of exemption processes for broader autonomous deployments in 2025, including streamlined rules to facilitate up to 2,500 vehicles per manufacturer annually. Compliance with varying state autonomous vehicle laws in deployment areas like and requires tailored operational geofences and reporting, complicating scalability. Looking ahead, Nuro advocates for unified federal AV standards to harmonize regulations, supporting bipartisan efforts to enhance the Department of Transportation's expertise in assessments. These preparations position the company for its planned 2026 launches in partnership with , navigating evolving federal and local frameworks to ensure safe integration. In July 2025, Nuro announced a partnership with Lucid and to develop and deploy over 20,000 Level 4 autonomous based on the Lucid Gravity SUV, with selected as the first launch market in 2026.

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