Wayve, Uber and Nissan today announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on the development of robotaxis and commence activities to realize the deployment of robotaxi services. 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.
This marks Uber’s first autonomous vehicle partnership in Japan and the next milestone in Wayve and Uber’s global robotaxi rollout, which includes planned services across more than ten cities worldwide, including London.
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.
During the initial phase, the vehicles will operate on the Uber network with a trained safety operator in the car, allowing riders to experience a robotaxi service as part of their everyday journeys.
Wayve, Uber and Nissan aim to deploy their state of the art, safe and reliable robotaxi service in Tokyo, one of the world’s most challenging markets with its dense traffic patterns, complex road layouts and high safety standards.
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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.
Alex Kendall, Cofounder & CEO, Wayve, said:
“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.”
Ivan Espinosa, President and CEO, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., said:
“Nissan is proud to collaborate in this next chapter of mobility innovation. Our work with Wayve to integrate advanced AI technology across our consumer vehicle portfolio has laid strong foundations, and we are excited to take this partnership further with a pilot deployment of Robotaxi in Tokyo, bringing together Wayve’s AI technology, Uber’s network, and Nissan vehicles. Nissan’s vision is to bring mobility intelligence to everyday life, and we believe this initiative reflects how we translate that ambition into real‑world applications.”
Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO, Uber, 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. 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.”
Uber intends to launch the service through a licensed taxi partner in Japan, working in close alignment with relevant authorities, and is currently in the process of selecting its partners.
As part of the announcement, the companies are providing a first look at the Robotaxi prototype based on the Nissan LEAF.
The announcement reinforces a shared ambition to scale safe, intelligent autonomous mobility globally, by combining Wayve’s AI technology, Nissan’s cutting-edge vehicles and Uber’s network, the partners aim to bring autonomous mobility to more cities.
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