Nissan, Uber, & Wayve Team Up On Robotaxis

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We’ve got another robotaxi collaboration. This time, it’s Nissan, Uber, and Wayve that are teaming up to work on a robotaxi rollout … eventually.

“The parties will begin preparations for a pilot deployment in Tokyo by late 2026, introducing the Nissan LEAF powered by the Wayve AI Driver, available to riders through Uber,” Nissan shares. “Under this scheme, the goal is to integrate Wayve’s end-to-end AI autonomous driving system into Nissan’s base vehicle, which can accommodate the Wayve AI Driver and connect to Uber’s ride hailing platform, matching robotaxis with individuals seeking transportation.”

Uber has been partnering with various companies on robotaxi trials and commercial deployment, but this is the first time it is doing so in Japan. The launch city is Tokyo, which Nissan highlights as “one of the world’s most challenging markets with its dense traffic patterns, complex road layouts and high safety standards.” Hmm. I feel like there are many large cities where traffic is more chaotic, rules are looser, and robotaxi operation may be tougher, but I’m sure Tokyo, like other big cities, presents many challenges.

As we reported recently, Wayve recently attracted investment from NVIDIA, Microsoft, Uber, Mercedes, Nissan, Stellantis, and others. Clearly, with that lineup of investors, the company is doing something right and looks promising in its approach to robotaxis. “The Wayve AI Driver is designed to learn from real-world data and generalize across new roads and cities without the use of an HD map. This enables rapid expansion into global markets and supports deployment in dynamic urban environments like Tokyo,” Nissan adds.

“Tokyo represents an important step forward in bringing embodied intelligence to one of the world’s most sophisticated mobility markets. We have been testing our technology throughout Japan since early 2025, building extensive experience in the country’s unique road environments. Partnering with Uber and Nissan to begin pilot deployment of Robotaxi allows us to introduce this technology in a responsible way, while continuing to learn and expand,” Alex Kendall, Cofounder & CEO of Wayve, said.

“Autonomous mobility is becoming an increasingly important part of the Uber platform. We are excited to expand our collaboration with Wayve and to work with Nissan to bring robotaxi services to Tokyo,” Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, said. “Following our planned pilot deployment in London, we look forward to expanding into Tokyo and introducing new, modern ways to travel in some of the world’s largest cities. It also reflects our long-term commitment to Japan, a critical market where innovation can help address driver shortages and support the future of urban transportation. Our goal is to give riders more ways to move with seamless access through the Uber app.”

2026 definitely feels like the year of the robotaxi. The biggest question is which company or companies are going to come out of this period scaling up the most and looking the most promising. Wayve is certainly a company to keep an eye on in this regard. Uber, of course, looks like it wants to partner with all of them in order to not miss out on a collaboration with the winner(s).