Uber is making a decisive shift away from its iconic "light-asset" gig economy model. According to a report on April 15, the ride-hailing giant has pledged to invest more than $100 billion to facilitate large-scale procurement of autonomous vehicles and acquire stakes in relevant developers, aiming to address the industry disruption brought by self-driving taxis.

The massive investment will be primarily allocated across two areas: over $25 billion will be used to acquire equity in autonomous driving technology companies over the coming years, while more than $75 billion will be spent on establishing and expanding a fleet of driverless taxis. Specific collaborations will depend on whether partners meet certain technological deployment milestones.

Uber has positioned itself as a marketplace platform for multiple autonomous taxi operators and has already formed partnerships with key industry players such as Baidu, Rivian, and Lucid. The company plans to launch self-driving taxi services in at least 28 cities by 2028.

This strategic pivot comes amid investor concerns that competitors like Tesla and Waymo could potentially displace Uber's intermediary role through advancements in autonomous driving technology. Notably, Uber sold its own self-driving research unit in 2020 to focus on profitability, and the current investment of over $100 billion is nearly four times the proceeds from that sale.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi stated that deploying capital is essential to securing a stable future supply of autonomous taxis and expressed confidence that this segment will generate substantial profits.