Can You Invest in Nuro Pre-IPO? Here's What You Need to Know

Is Nuro publicly traded?

Nuro may be driving onto investors' radars, but as of October 2025, Nuro was still a privately held company. While retail investors can't hitch a ride with Nuro, the company has secured investments from SoftBank (SFTB.Y -3.43%), Disney (DIS +0.40%), and Alphabet (GOOG -0.04%)(GOOGL -0.08%), as well as several venture capital firms.

When will Nuro IPO?

For people who are patient and comfortable with speculative investments that entail higher degrees of risk -- but offer the chance for higher rewards -- buying IPO stocks presents unique investment opportunities. And while several companies are planning to go public in 2025, it's highly unlikely that Nuro will find itself on the IPO calendar anytime soon.

Is Nuro profitable?

Because Nuro is a privately held company, it isn't subject to the same financial reporting requirements as publicly held companies, so investors don't have the luxury of combing through Nuro's quarterly filings and 10-Ks. As a result, insight into the company's financial circumstances is rather scant, including whether the company is generating a profit.

Alternatives to Nuro

Although Nuro stock may not be an option for ordinary retail investors, there are comparable companies that they may find appealing.

1. Nvidia

Although picking up shares of Nuro isn't a possibility for most investors, there's still the opportunity to gain indirect exposure to the self-driving car stock with Nvidia. The semiconductor powerhouse has developed a platform specifically designed for automotive applications: Nvidia Drive AGX. A key hardware component of Drive AGX is DRIVE Thor, a chip that incorporates sophisticated central processing units (CPUs) and graphic processing units (GPUs) to provide autonomous driving. In September 2024, Nuro announced its autonomy platform Nuro Driver, built with "Nvidia Drive Thor with Arm Neoverse™ technology – that combines automotive-grade hardware with AI-powered self-driving software."

In addition to Nuro, Nvidia provides its automotive hardware to a variety of other customers, including BYD (BYDDY +0.08%) and XPeng (XPEV -2.23%). During its fourth quarter 2025 earnings presentation, Nvidia noted that self-driving platform products were the primary factor behind the company achieving a 69% year-over-year revenue increase in its automotive business for fiscal 2025.

2. Tesla

There are plenty of car companies striving to develop sophisticated autonomous driving functionality, but Tesla (TSLA -1.81%) is likely the name that most people on the street will associate with self-driving cars, and for good reason. Tesla has made tremendous strides in achieving self-driving functionality.

For vehicles built after September 2014, drivers can use Tesla's advanced driver assistance system, Autopilot. In short, Tesla's driver assistance system requires almost zero driver input to match and navigate road and traffic conditions.

Besides vehicles where people sit in the driver's seats, Tesla plans to produce driverless vehicles, called Robotaxis. Tesla plans to begin volume production of its Robotaxi in 2026.

3. Uber

For investors who remember Nuro's original ambitions of facilitating autonomous food delivery, Uber is a worthy consideration. While Uber originally made its name from ridesharing, its delivery business -- which includes food, alcohol, and other items -- has grown considerably recently in terms of profitability. Uber's delivery segment adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) in 2024 rose to $1.8 billion, a 44% year-over-year increase.

Amplifying the appeal of Uber stock for Nuro-focused investors, a portion of Uber's delivery revenue directly stems from Nuro itself. In September 2022, Uber and Nuro agreed to a 10-year partnership, with Uber planning to use Nuro's self-driving vehicles to make food deliveries in Houston and Mountain View, Calif. Uber also has partnerships with other self-driving companies like WeRide (WRD +1.02%) and Pony (PONY +2.19%).

How to buy stocks similar to Nuro

Accredited investors may be able to buy shares of Nuro before the company launches an IPO. People who fit the criteria of an accredited investor may be able to buy Nuro stock on platforms such as Forge Global (FRGE -0.04%), which allows them to invest in privately held companies.

If you don't qualify as an accredited investor, you're not completely out of luck. There are publicly traded companies with businesses similar to Nuro. Just follow these steps.

1. Open your brokerage app: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments.
2. Search for the stock: Enter the ticker or company name into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page.
3. Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
4. Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay.
5. Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
6. Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.

ETFs with exposure to Nuro

Since Nuro is a privately held company, investors can't gain exposure to the stock through an exchange-traded fund (ETF). There's no need to despair, though, since there are several ETFs that provide exposure to stocks closely related to Nuro.

• ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ +1.03%): For investors who want more comprehensive exposure to autonomous mobility, the ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF is a great choice. Of course, there's exposure to Tesla (the largest position in the ETF with an 11.8% weighting), but there's also extensive exposure to drone stock AeroVironment (AVAV +4.76%) and AI semiconductor stalwart Nvidia. With about $1.67 billion in assets under management (AUM), the ETF has an expense ratio of 0.75%.
• iShares Self-Driving EV and Tech ETF (IDRV -0.63%): Investors looking for more concentrated exposure to both self-driving cars and electric vehicles (EVs) might want to kick the tires on the iShares Self-Driving EV and Tech ETF. XPeng (XPEV -2.23%), BYD, and Li Auto (LI -2.58%) are among the top holdings, but the ETF also includes companies manufacturing EV batteries and mining companies producing minerals used in EV batteries. The iShares Self-Driving EV and Tech ETF has $166 million in AUM, and it has a 0.47% expense ratio.
• VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH -0.81%): Packed with leading semiconductor manufacturers, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF will attract interest from investors looking for exposure to businesses that provide the "brains" for self-driving vehicles. Broadcom (AVGO -4.05%) is the third largest holding in the ETF with an 8.16% weighting, while ASML (ASML -0.51%) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NASDAQ:TSM) and were represented in the top ten positions with weightings of 5.55% and 9.65%, respectively. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF has a 0.35% expense ratio and more than $34.27 billion in AUM.

Should you invest in Nuro?

With its dedication to licensing its autonomous driving technology, investors may find Nuro stock enticing. They're out of luck since the company hasn't held an IPO. If the company proceeds with an IPO, however, it will have to submit regulatory filings, providing investors with much greater insight into the company's financials and helping them to make a more informed decision about whether the stock is a smart investment for them.

Accredited investors may presently be able to gain a position in Nuro but should only proceed if they're comfortable with a more speculative investment.

The bottom line

Nuro may not be delivering food to your front door in the near future, but its partnership with Uber is providing service to limited customers in California and Texas, suggesting the company is farther down the road to growing its operations than some of its peers.

But without an IPO on the horizon, this privately held company isn't an investment opportunity that's widely available. Still, investors can gain indirect exposure to Nuro through investments in Nvidia and Uber, as well as various ETFs that focus on autonomous mobility companies and semiconductor companies.

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