Nuro’s $6 Billion Road to Everyday Autonomy

“ We saw an opportunity to improve people’s lives by building a new class of vehicle designed from the ground up to move things instead of people, ” says Dave Ferguson , co-founder of Nuro . Since 2016, the Mountain View startup has gone from a sketch by two former Waymo engineers to one of Silicon Valley’s most closely watched robotics bets. Its compact machines have delivered groceries, prescriptions, and pizza. Now its software is being licensed to power autonomous ride-hailing fleets. It’s an ironic twist for Ferguson and his co-founder Jiajun Zhu , both veterans of Google’s self-driving car project, later spun out as Waymo, which made headlines chasing the robotaxi dream. At Nuro, they decided to aim lower and in the process, may have found a clearer path. Betting on Boxes, Not People Inside Google’s self-driving car project, Dave Ferguson worked on algorithms that could help machines make sense of the unpredictability of traffic. His co-founder, Jiajun Zhu, focused on building the perception systems that allowed vehicles to recognize and respond to their surroundings. Both saw up close how far passenger autonomy still had to go. Regulators were cautious, the public was torn between curiosity and concern, and the cost of even a single mistake was measured in human lives. Delivery, by contrast, seemed like an open lane. Smaller vehicles meant simpler designs and lower risks. The environments were more controlled, the use cases clearer, and the stakes more practical. Instead of carrying commuters, these machines could carry groceries, hot meals, or prescriptions. That difference mattered. At a time when most of Silicon Valley was fixated on robotaxis, Ferguson and Zhu recognized an opening in the quieter world of logistics. They believed autonomy would gain acceptance more quickly if it began with moving goods, rather than people. Building Robots on Wheels Nuro’s first prototype, the R1 , debuted in 2018. Half the width of a typical sedan, it carried two temperature-controlled compartments designed for grocery bags or takeout meals. There were no seats, steering wheel, or pedals. It was, in every respect, a vehicle built for packages, not people. The R2 followed in 2020. It was the first autonomous vehicle to receive an exemption from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration , which allowed it to operate without traditional human-centered features such as side mirrors or a windshield. For Nuro, it was validation that regulators were wiling to accept a new class of machine. The most recent generation, R3 , brought better sensors, upgraded storage systems, and an electric powertrain designed for durability. Yet the real engine of Nuro’s innovation is its software. The company’s autonomy platform, called the ‘Nuro Driver ’, integrates perception, prediction, planning, and control. It runs on an Arm-based compute stack with NVIDIA’s DRIVE technology, providing the processing power needed to make split-second decisions in complex city environments. In 2024, Nuro shifted its strategy. Rather than limiting itself to operating fleets of delivery robots, the company announced it would license the Nuro Driver to automakers and mobility providers. This pivot aligned with broader industry dynamics. Vehicle manufacturing was capital-intensive and slow. By focusing on autonomy software, Nuro could expand its reach without the burden of producing and maintaining thousands of vehicles itself. The licensing model also positioned it to enter markets beyond delivery, including ride-hailing and personal vehicles. “ By focusing on software, we can bring autonomy to more partners, more vehicles, and more communities than we ever could on our ow n,” Zhu noted. Big Money, Big Partners Investment has played a central role in Nuro’s rise. The company closed a $92 million Series A in 2018. The following year, it secured a $940 million investment from SoftBank’s Vision Fund, which valued Nuro at $2.7 billion. In 2020, it raised $500 million in a Series C, and in 2021 another $600 million in Series D, pushing its valuation to $8.6 billion. While market conditions later cooled, Nuro continued to attract capital. In 2025, it raised $203 million in Series E funding, establishing a valuation of $6 billion . Altogether, the company has secured more than $2.3 billion, a rare level of financial backing in the autonomous vehicle sector. Partnerships have been equally pivotal. In 2018, Nuro launched its first pilot with Kroger , delivering groceries in Scottsdale, Arizona. The following year it partnered with Domino’s in Houston, testing pizza delivery with the R1. In 2020, CVS worked with Nuro to deliver prescriptions in Texas and a year later, 7-Eleven joined as a partner for pilot deliveries in California. In 2022, Uber Eats signed a ten-year agreement to deploy Nuro’s vehicles in California and Texas. In 2025, Uber , Lucid Motors , and Nuro unveiled a collaboration to launch a new autonomous r

Nuro’s $6 Billion Road to Everyday Autonomy

Betting on Boxes, Not People

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