US self-driving startup Nuro, which is backed by the likes of NVIDIA, Toyota and Uber, has began testing its autonomous autos on Tokyo’s difficult streets, Bloomberg reported. The corporate, which plans to launch a robotaxi service with Uber and Lucid in San Francisco this yr, will likely be testing a “handful” of autos within the metropolis. Human security drivers will likely be on the wheel, as is required by Japanese legislation.
Tokyo presents a problem for autonomous autos, given its slim, crowded streets and left facet of the street driving. “Testing the potential of the autonomy system in such an attention-grabbing market with some worldwide complexity actually is an effective strain check of what the system is able to,” mentioned CEO Andrew Chapin. The corporate’s final objective is to attain Stage 4 autonomy, which permits full self-driving underneath restricted circumstances.
Waymo is the opposite main robotaxi operator testing vehicles in Tokyo in collaboration with Japanese taxi operators Nihon Kotsu and the nation’s main taxi app, Go. It has been working within the nation since April 2025 in collaboration with Toyota.
Nuro has but to announce which operators or car producers will probably be partnering with, however Chapin mentioned it might not restrict itself to autonomous rides. “A common autonomy platform that may be prolonged to a number of completely different functions and type components is a bit completely different than the method Waymo is taking,” he advised Bloomberg. The corporate beforehand teamed with 7-Eleven on autonomous deliveries in Mountain View, California.
Uber plans to have as much as 100,000 autonomous autos together with 20,000 robotaxis powered by Lucid and Nuro, with a rollout beginning in 2027. It launched its new vehicle design lately at CES 2026. Uber can also be collaborating with Nissan and Wayve with the purpose to introduce pilot vehicles in Tokyo by late 2026.
