Why Deutsche Bank Is Bullish On Uber As A Big Winner Of The Self-driving Car Race

• Deutsche Bank analysts hailed Uber's stock as an emerging winner in the autonomous-car race.
• They highlighted its partnership with Nvidia as a bullish catalyst in the coming year.
• Their thesis says Uber can benefit from the coming self-driving boom without building cars.

Uber is increasingly likely to emerge as one of the big winners of the coming driverless-car boom, Deutsche Bank analysts said on Tuesday.

The bank's Benjamin Black and his team said in a note on Monday that the outlook is no longer for a winner-take-all scenario in which a major manufacturer like Tesla takes the crown. Instead, they see Uber in a prime position to benefit as the ecosystem evolves.

The analysts cited Uber's partnerships with AI hardware titan Nvidia as a catalyst for near-term growth.

"By combining Nvidia's full-stack AV hardware and software blueprint (Drive Hyperion) with Uber's global demand network, the companies have laid out a concrete roadmap for Level 4 (L4) robotaxi deployment across 28 cities globally by 2028," Black wrote.

To date, the driverless race has been dominated by two leading tech companies, Tesla and Waymo. The Google subsidiary has been praised by finance pros such as Ross Gerber for having superior technology, and former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick recently described Waymo as being significantly ahead.

But as Deutsche sees it, Uber may be one of the best stocks to buy for exposure to the AV market before it takes off, because of, rather than despite, the fact that it does not build any cars of its own.

The fast-growing AV ecosystem is increasingly being built around Nvidia. As Deutsche's analysts also highlighted, the supply base for AV hardware is expanding, as auto giants such BYD, Nissan and Geely opt to use Nvidia's technology to power autonomous driving.

They said the proliferation of AV tech among a range of manufacturers "directly counters the bearish narrative of a single-player (e.g., Tesla) winner-takes-all robotaxi market."

Black's team said this is bullish for Uber because more self-driving cars will be rolling out, allowing the ride-hailing leader to benefit as the primary middleman that fills them with passengers.

"In our view, this ecosystem dynamic heavily favors Uber," Black added. "As the global aggregator of mobility demand, Uber is now solidifying its relative value proposition."

This comes as both Uber and Nvidia are preparing for an important year together. The companies plan to launch L4 robotaxis, defined as vehicles that can operate fully with no human driver, in both San Francisco and Los Angeles in early 2027 and in more markets in the following year.

"After recent partnership announcements and including this expanded Nvidia partnership, we believe the market is beginning to appreciate the following: building a self-driving car is only half the battle. Monetizing it is the other," Black said.

Deutsche Bank has a 12-month price target of $108 per share for Uber stock, implying 38% upside from Tuesday's closing price.