New CPUC Drivered Pilot Permit builds on Nuro’s recent California DMV Driverless Testing Permit for its robotaxi program with Uber and Lucid
Nuro, Inc. (“Nuro”), a leader in autonomous driving technology, today announced that it has secured a California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Drivered Pilot Permit – an important milestone ahead of the launch of its robotaxi program with Uber and Lucid.
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A Nuro robotaxi engineering prototype driving in California.
The CPUC Drivered Pilot Permit allows Nuro to conduct pilot testing of autonomous passenger service in California with a safety driver, while carrying passengers in test vehicles on public roads. The permit builds on Nuro’s California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Driverless Testing Permit, received in April, which allows the company to test autonomous vehicles without a safety driver.
Taken together, these permits enable two important steps toward launch in California: driverless testing and passenger-carrying pilot operations. They do not authorize paid rides, and the CPUC Drivered Pilot Permit does not authorize driverless passenger operations.
“These approvals mark another meaningful step forward as we continue preparing for launch in California,” said James Owens, Nuro's Chief Legal and Policy Officer. “They expand what we can validate on public roads and reflect the steady progress our team is making across technology, operations, rider experience, and regulatory readiness.”
The permits build on a series of milestones across the robotaxi program and reflect the continued advancement of Nuro’s universal autonomy platform. In October 2025, the companies announced the San Francisco Bay Area as the first market for their next-generation robotaxi service. In December 2025, Nuro started autonomous testing on public roads with a safety driver. And, in January 2026 at CES, Nuro, Uber, and Lucid unveiled the production-intent vehicle that will be used in the service.
Nuro operates a fleet of nearly 100 robotaxi engineering vehicles, which are Lucid Gravity vehicles integrated with the Nuro Driver™, supporting testing and validation across multiple U.S. cities and states. In April, select Uber employees also began testing the service directly in the Uber app in the San Francisco Bay Area.
With the CPUC permit now in hand, Nuro is one of only five companies with both the DMV Driverless Testing Permit and Drivered Pilot Permit in California.
About Nuro
Nuro is a physical AI company building level 4 self-driving technology that extends across vehicles, use cases, and markets. Nuro’s universal autonomy platform and generalizable AI driver, the Nuro Driver™, give the global mobility ecosystem a scalable path to full autonomy. Combining real-world deployment experience with a flexible, partner-led model, the company is working toward a future where millions of autonomous vehicles driven by Nuro help make life safer, more fulfilling, and more connected.
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