Nuro To Invest $40 Million To Set Up Manufacturing, Testing Units In U.S.

Autonomous delivery startup Nuro said on Thursday it would invest $40 million to set up its first manufacturing and testing facilities in the United States, as it aims to ramp up the production of its own self-driving vehicles. The two new facilities will be located in Southern Nevada, Nuro said.

Nuro vehicles are already making deliveries for U.S. supermarket operator Kroger Co and Domino's Pizza Inc in the Houston area. In June, the startup had teamed up with package delivery company FedEx Corp and signed a multi-year agreement to test self-driving vehicles.

Nuro said in November it had raised $500 million as demand for online orders surged during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Building on our tremendous momentum—including strategic partnerships with industry leaders such as Domino's, Kroger, and FedEx and operations in three states—we are now able to invest in the infrastructure to build tens of thousands of robots," said Jiajun Zhu, co-founder and chief executive officer of Nuro, in a statement.

Nuro, whose R2 unit has no pedals or steering wheel and only room for packages, said in November it had raised $500 million as demand for online orders surged during the COVID-19 pandemic.