Uber Stock Gains On Nvidia Autonomous Driving Partnership

Uber Technologies (UBER) is collaborating with Nvidia (NVDA) to help develop AI-powered autonomous driving technology, the companies said late Monday. Uber stock was higher in early trading Tuesday.

Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang focused part of his keynote Monday night for the CES technology trade show on "physical AI," referring to the chipmakers ambition to power autonomous vehicles and robots. That includes the launch of Nvidia Cosmos, a computing platform for accelerating physical AI development. Uber will be among the first adopters of the AI models. The ride-hailing company offered more details in a news release following the event.

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The millions of daily trips on Uber provide a "vast and rich source of data" that Uber and Nvidia will pair with the  NVIDIA Cosmos platform and Nvidia's DGX operating system to help AV developers improve their technology, according to the news release.

"Generative AI will power the future of mobility, requiring both rich data and very powerful compute," Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said in the news release. "By working with NVIDIA, we are confident that we can help supercharge the timeline for safe and scalable autonomous driving solutions for the industry."

Uber's news release said it will provide more details later this year.

Uber Stock

On the stock market today, Uber stock was up 2.9% at 68.26 in recent premarket trading. Shares are approaching the stock's 50-day moving average. Uber stock gained 2.7% Monday after the company announced it would accelerate a portion of its $7 billion stock buyback authorization.

Uber's Autonomous Vehicle Strategy

The Nvidia plan fits within a broader partnership strategy for autonomous vehicles from Uber. Uber sold off its autonomous vehicle division late in 2020 and has instead pitched itself as a partner to AV developers.

That includes a partnership with Waymo, Google's self-driving car division. Uber already offers Waymo vehicles in Phoenix and will expand that arrangement to Austin and Atlanta starting next year. The ride-hailing giant also recently added robotaxis to its app in Abu Dhabi through a partnership with Chinese mobility company WeRide (WRD).

Investors, however, appear uneasy overall about what AVs will mean for Uber's business. Uber stock slid when Waymo recently announced it would expand to Miami using its own app, rather than Uber's. And updates on Tesla's (TSLA) progress toward a robotaxi service over the six months have often pushed Uber stock lower.

Uber slumped to close the year, losing 25% from the stock's high near 87 from early October.

Uber Stock 2025 Rally

Yet Uber is starting 2025 strong, rallying 10% so far this month to retake stock's 21-day moving average. Further gains Tuesday could have Uber test support for its longer-term 50-day moving average.

Overall, Uber has an IBD Composite Rating of 69 out of a best-possible 99, according to IBD Stock Checkup. IBD's Composite Rating combines five separate proprietary ratings into one easy-to-use rating. The best growth stocks have a Composite Rating of 90 or better.

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