March 18 (Reuters) - Israeli startup REE Automotive ( REE )

said on Tuesday it expects revenue of up to $770 million

by 2030 from a licensing deal with an undisclosed company to

which it will provide technology that helps make autonomous

vehicles.

REE, whose customers include van rental firm U-Haul

and French planemaker Airbus, said it has signed a

preliminary deal with the unnamed company and expects to

finalize a definitive agreement soon.

The Israel-based company has avoided the costly

manufacturing investments that have hobbled several

electric-vehicle startups and instead staked its future on

licensing its technology. The deal could also help the startup

become profitable as volume grows.

The startup's technology allows vehicles to be

software-defined, in which most features and functions -

performance, safety and entertainment - are controlled mainly

through software while simplifying wiring by grouping functions

into zones, making it easier to integrate self-driving

capabilities.

It expects to start generating revenue for software and

services as part of the deal in the second half of the year. REE

had order backlogs worth $150 million and the agreement would

take that figure close to a billion, it said.

"We can break even on the bill of materials level in the

lower hundreds and we expect to break even at the EBITDA level

in the low thousands. I think this gets us there," REE CEO

Daniel Barel told Reuters.

"The more we shift from manufacturing of vehicles to

software and services revenue, naturally, margins will be of

software companies."

The company said its unnamed customer, which develops

mobility solutions, will license the technology to produce

thousands of self-driving passenger vehicles starting from 2027.