Autonomous vehicle startup Nuro has announced it has secured a US$ 500 million Series C funding round as the Covid-19 pandemic gives e-commerce a massive boost. Nuro, which builds the R2 self-driving delivery vehicle that only offers room for packages, said the latest round was led by T. Rowe Price Associates and includes new investors Fidelity Management & Research Company and Baillie Gifford, as well as existing investors SoftBank and Greylock.
Nuro will use the funding to expand its
team while also ramping up manufacturing, company co-founder Dave Ferguson said
according to Reuters. The R2 vehicle, which lacks a steering wheel and pedals,
is currently built in Detroit with Roush Enterprises, though it remains unclear
how many are produced and on the road today.
In February, the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA) gave Nuro approval to deploy up to 5,000 R2
vehicles on public roads over two years. Nuro’s self-driving delivery vehicles
currently drive around fully autonomously in Houston, Texas, Scottsdale,
Arizona, and Mountain View in California – with no drivers, no occupants, and
no chase cars.
Nuro’s growing list of partners in these
areas includes Domino’s, Walmart, Kroger, and CVS. In Houston, Nuro is also
using Toyota Prius cars outfitted with its self-driving tech to deliver
groceries and prescriptions for Kroger and CVS. However, over the next couple
of quarters, the R2 will be taking over all deliveries. Nuro’s latest funding
round adds to the US$ 940 million raised early last year. Since that last
investment, Nuro’s valuation has reportedly doubled to US$ 5 billion.