Motional is targeting the launch of driverless commercial robotaxi operations on the Uber platform in Las Vegas by the end of 2026, supported by a new artificial intelligence-based autonomous driving architecture centered on Large Driving Models (LDMs).
AI-Centered Autonomous Driving Strategy
The company, backed by Hyundai Motor Group, has redesigned its autonomous driving software around an AI-first approach intended to improve scalability and reduce deployment costs.
Hesai Named Exclusive Lidar Supplier for Motional’s Ioniq 5 Robotaxi
Laura Major, who became Motional’s President and Chief Executive Officer in 2025 after serving as Chief Technology Officer, said the transition required short-term trade-offs to establish a stronger long-term technology foundation.
At the center of the strategy are Large Driving Models, which apply foundation-model AI techniques to autonomous driving with the goal of enabling more natural driving behavior and accelerating deployment in new cities.
Continuous Learning System
Motional’s development platform also includes a Continuous Learning Framework that analyzes data collected daily from its vehicle fleet.
The framework is designed to identify unusual driving scenarios, incorporate those edge cases into training datasets, and retrain AI models on an ongoing basis to improve vehicle performance over time.
According to the company, the approach supports continuous software improvement while reducing the need for city-specific engineering efforts.
Ioniq 5 Robotaxi Platform
The autonomous service will use the Ioniq 5 robotaxi, which was developed specifically for ride-hailing applications and is manufactured at the Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center Singapore.
Major said the vehicle demonstrates Hyundai Motor Group’s and Motional’s ability to develop an integrated autonomous mobility platform spanning vehicle design, manufacturing and self-driving technology.
Commercial Deployment in Las Vegas
The planned Las Vegas deployment on the Uber network is expected to serve as the company’s first large-scale commercial validation of its latest autonomous driving system.
Motional said operational data collected from the fleet will be used to further train its Large Driving Models, supporting future expansion into additional cities as the technology continues to mature.
The company views AI-driven learning as a key component of its long-term commercialization strategy, with the objective of enabling autonomous vehicles to adapt more efficiently to new operating environments while supporting broader deployment of robotaxi services.