Wayve Raises $1.2 Billion and Preps London Robotaxi Launch

Wayve, a United Kingdom-based self-driving vehicle startup, is now valued at $8.6 billion, according to a Wednesday (Feb. 25) press release.

The company concluded a $1.2 billion Series D funding round, with investors that included Microsoft, Nvidia and Uber, as well as carmakers Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Stellantis, the release said. The funding will help fuel Wayve’s shift from artificial intelligence research to scaled commercial deployment of its AI platform.

Wayve co-founder and CEO Alex Kendall said in the release that the company is “building for a total addressable market that spans every vehicle that moves.”

“Autonomy will not scale through city-by-city robotaxi deployments alone,” he said in the release. “It will scale through a trusted platform that automakers and fleets can deploy globally and improve continuously. This investment accelerates our path to widespread commercial deployment and positions us to build the autonomy layer that will power any vehicle, anywhere.”

In addition to its investment in the Series D, Uber has committed more capital to boost the deployment of Wayve-powered robotaxis on its network, with the first such service aimed to launch in London this year before a wider international launch, according to the release.

The collaboration will see Wayve deploy its AI Driver in L4-capable vehicles from participating automakers, while Uber will own and manage the fleet. This will create “a scalable model for autonomous ride-hailing using mass-produced vehicles,” the release said.

“We are very proud to continue to deepen our partnership with Wayve, with plans to deploy together in more than 10 markets around the world,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in the release. “Wayve’s powerful end-to-end approach is purpose-built for scale, safety and effectiveness, and we’re excited to work with them across multiple OEMs and geographies, which we’ll share more about soon.”

Starting next year, consumers will be able to buy vehicles equipped with Wayve’s AI Driver, which will include a “hands-off” capability that lets the vehicle steer, navigate and respond to traffic under driver supervision, according to the release.

Wayve announced in September that Nvidia was considering an investment of up to $500 million. The tech giant took part in Wayve’s Series C round in 2024.

This week, Uber introduced Autonomous Solutions, a suite of services and capabilities designed for autonomous vehicles, as well as designed to help the company’s partners build and commercialize self-driving cars in markets around the world.

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