Nuro is testing autonomous vehicle technology on the streets of Tokyo

Nuro, the Silicon Valley-based startup backed by Nvidia, Uber and SoftBank, is testing self-driving vehicle technology in Japan.

Toyota Prius vehicles equipped with Noro’s self-driving software — and human safety operators behind the wheel as a backup — began testing on public roads in Tokyo last month. The test marks the first overseas expansion for the startup, which upended its business model two years ago.

Noro said the testing in Japan presents a number of new challenges and different driving styles and rules. For example, vehicles drive on the left side of the road, and Tokyo streets see heavy traffic. Road signs and lane markings are also different in Japan. The company, which opened its offices in Tokyo last August, did not reveal how many test vehicles it has in its fleet or when it might remove the human safety factor from the vehicles.

In a blog post announcing the test in Japan, the company suggested that there would be future expansions.

“Our standalone operations in Tokyo are the beginning of the compounding benefits of global deployment,” the company wrote.

Founded in 2016 by Google’s early self-driving project engineers Dave Ferguson and Jiajun Zhu, Nuro initially focused on developing and operating a fleet of low-speed delivery robots on the road. Nuro’s pitch and pedigree caught the attention of SoftBank Vision Fund, which invested $940 million in the startup in 2019.

Nuro had a cheerful start, but the cost of development and a wave of consolidation forced the company to cut headcount and evaluate its business model. In 2024, it abandoned low-speed robots and decided to license its technology to automakers and transportation service providers, such as ride-hailing and delivery companies.

The company’s autonomy suite is built on a core model of end-to-end artificial intelligence that allows the system to learn as you drive, according to Nuru. This AI strategy, which it calls “self-driving without a shot,” allowed Nuro to navigate autonomously on public roads in Tokyo without any prior training on Japanese driving data, the company’s blog post said. UK-based Wayve, which recently raised $1.2 billion, has taken a similar approach to end-to-end AI in its self-driving software.

Designed to be capable at scale, this AI approach doesn’t mean it ignores safety, Nuru says. The company said it conducts closed testing of each new version of its global autonomy model and evaluates performance and tests edge cases using simulations. Once on the road, autonomous vehicles are driven manually while Nuro’s software operates in “shadow mode.” The basic AI model produces what the software will do, but the commands are not sent to the vehicle’s controls, Nuru said.

Nuro checks the results to determine if the system is ready to operate autonomously on public roads.

Nuro has gained some attention and investors for its approach to self-driving software. Last year, Nuro raised $203 million in two tranches in a Series E round that included existing backer Baillie Gifford and new investors Icehouse Ventures, Kindred Ventures, Nvidia and Pledge Ventures. Also participating was Uber, which said it would invest “hundreds of millions of dollars” in Nuro as part of a broader deal with electric car maker Lucid.