Nuro Raises $106M to Scale Self-Driving at $6B Valuation

After months of showcasing its autonomous tech across the U.S., Nuro has raised $106 million in fresh capital — a strategic move to advance its new licensing-focused business model and deepen commercial partnerships. The Series E round, while a down round compared to previous valuations, brings Nuro’s total funding to $2.2 billion and pegs its current valuation at $6 billion — a notable dip from its $8.6 billion valuation post-Series D in 2021.

While a down round can sometimes signal diminished investor confidence, Nuro’s leadership paints a different picture. Co-founder and president Dave Ferguson emphasized that the lower valuation reflects a more realistic market and a leaner, more efficient path forward. “We feel very good about this valuation and the conviction it shows in our new go-to-market strategy,” Ferguson said. “We’ve been operating efficiently for the past several years and are now on a capital-efficient path forward, building a strong and durable business alongside our partners.”

Nuro’s new direction moves away from its original model of designing and operating its own delivery robots — the friendly, compact vehicles once spotted delivering pizzas for Domino’s. That approach, while innovative, proved capital-intensive. The company hit pause on manufacturing plans, underwent multiple layoffs, and shifted focus to refining its core autonomous driving technology.

Now, Nuro is betting big on licensing its self-driving software stack to automakers, delivery fleets, and ride-hailing platforms — a strategy that aligns more closely with what companies like U.K.-based Wayve are also pursuing. By offloading the hardware burden and focusing on scalable software deployment, Nuro hopes to tap into broader market segments without the operational drag of building vehicles.

A key catalyst behind this pivot was the company’s confidence in the accelerating pace of AI development. In a May 2023 blog post, Nuro’s founders highlighted how AI advancements could dramatically improve autonomy capabilities and extend the company’s financial runway from 1.5 years to 3.5. This new Series E round now provides an even longer runway — into 2027, according to a company spokesperson.

Notably, the round was backed primarily by existing institutional investors such as T. Rowe Price Associates, Fidelity, Tiger Global, Greylock, and XN LP. Their continued support signals strong confidence in Nuro’s revised roadmap, despite broader industry headwinds and a tightened funding environment.

While Nuro hasn’t disclosed the names of new strategic backers, it continues to maintain ties with heavyweights like Toyota and Uber via Woven Capital, Toyota’s venture arm. These alliances may prove critical as Nuro seeks to embed its self-driving stack into the next generation of vehicles.

Co-founder and CEO Jiajun Zhu summed up the company’s refreshed ambition: “Our technology, years of experience with driver-out Level 4 deployments, and focus on licensing uniquely position us to help automakers, mobility platforms, and commercial fleets accelerate their autonomy roadmaps.”

In a capital-constrained market where many AV startups have floundered or folded, Nuro’s disciplined shift toward a capital-efficient model — and its ability to raise substantial funding despite a valuation dip — marks a rare bright spot. Whether its pivot will outpace competitors like Wayve remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: Nuro is no longer just building robots — it's building the brain behind the future of mobility.