Uber announced today it will spend more than $100 million to build fast-charging infrastructure for autonomous vehicles across major US cities, the company's most direct investment yet in the physical backbone of the robotaxi economy. Construction will begin in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Dallas — markets where Uber plans to launch public robotaxi services in partnership with autonomous vehicle companies.
The investment will fund approximately 1,000 new high-speed DC charging stations at fleet operation centers and strategic urban locations. Charging infrastructure partners include EVgo in New York, LA, San Francisco, and Boston; Hubber and Ionity in London; and Electra in Paris and Madrid — signaling that Uber's autonomous vehicle strategy extends well beyond the US.
The move is a direct response to competitive pressure from Waymo, which has built its own charging and operations infrastructure as it expands its robotaxi network. Uber's answer is not to build its own autonomous vehicles but to own the operational layer — charging hubs, fleet management, and the platform connecting riders to whichever AV partner is operating in a given market.