The robotaxi roster of players expanded even further on Thursday after Mercedes-Benz (MBGAF), Nvidia (NVDA), and Uber Technologies (UBER) announced a three-way collaboration to build a global robotaxi platform that will use Mercedes’ (MGAF) new S-Class, Nvidia’s (NVDA) autonomous driving hardware and software stack, and Uber’s (UBER) ride-hailing network to offer driverless rides in major markets.
The robotaxi service will run on Mercedes-Benz’s (MBGAF) MB.OS operating system, allowing Nvidia (NVDA) and other partners to layer high-level automated driving applications on top while the German automaker keeps control of core vehicle software and integration.
For its part, Nvidia (NVDA) will supply its DRIVE Hyperion architecture, Alpamayo AI driving models, and simulation and safety tools to deliver level 4-capable autonomy, building on prior announcements that its AV stack would reach the road with Mercedes and feed into Uber’s plan to deploy large autonomous fleets later this decade. Uber’s (UBER) role is to simply fold the robotaxis into its existing platform so human-driven vehicles and autonomous S-Class robotaxis operate side by side.
While the companies did not provide a launch timeline, the collaboration was called a step toward large-scale commercial deployments in multiple global cities. “Together, Mercedes-Benz, Nvidia, and Uber will build a global platform that makes autonomous driving available to everyone,” stated Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang in a video shown at a Mercedes event.