{"id":101364,"date":"2026-02-24T22:03:03","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T01:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automotive.einnews.com\/article\/895262721"},"modified":"2026-02-24T22:03:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T01:03:03","slug":"self-driving-tech-startup-wayve-raises-1-2b-from-nvidia-uber-and-three-automakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/02\/24\/self-driving-tech-startup-wayve-raises-1-2b-from-nvidia-uber-and-three-automakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Self-driving tech startup Wayve raises $1.2B from Nvidia, Uber, and three automakers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Wayve\u2019s self-driving tech has attracted a diverse set of investors in the company\u2019s latest $1.2 billion funding round, including three automakers, top venture and institutional firms, and returning backers Microsoft, Nvidia, and Uber. The total raise could reach $1.5 billion thanks to another $300 million from Uber contingent on deploying robotaxis, beginning in London.<\/p>\n

Everyone, it seems, wants a piece of the U.K. startup, which is now valued at $8.6 billion. The funding round illustrates the eagerness among Big Tech, legacy automakers, and the investor community to profit from the burgeoning automated driving industry. <\/p>\n

Wayve provides what founder and CEO Alex Kendall calls the \u201ccontrarian\u201d option in automated driving \u2014 contrarian both in its approach to tech and its business model, he told TechCrunch in an interview Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the technology chessboard is set around where different companies have invested on the technology strategy, and now the commercial chessboard is being arranged,\u201d Kendall said. \u201cWe took a very contrarian view on the technology side. We were the first to build end-to-end deep learning for autonomous driving, and we pioneered this approach. Now, when it comes to this phase of moving into commercialization, we\u2019re also taking a contrarian business model approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wayve<\/a>, which launched in 2017, uses a self-learning approach to its software. The company developed a software layer using an end-to-end neural network that doesn\u2019t require high-definition maps and only uses data to teach the vehicle how to drive. <\/p>\n

This data-driven learning approach underpins two products: an \u201ceyes on\u201d assisted-driving system and an \u201ceyes off\u201d fully automated-driving system that could be applied to robotaxis or consumer vehicles that can handle all of the driving in certain environments. <\/p>\n

The company\u2019s pitch to customers is the agnostic nature of its technology, which is not reliant on specific sensors or maps. The automated-driving software captures data from whatever sensors are on the vehicle and directs the system\u2019s driving decisions. Wayve\u2019s software can also run on whatever chip its OEM partners already have in their vehicles.<\/p>\n

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Techcrunch event<\/p>\n

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Boston, MA<\/span> |<\/span> June 9, 2026<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

It should be noted, however, that Nvidia, which is also a backer, has had a close development relationship with Wayve since 2018. The startup\u2019s Gen 3 platform, which was unveiled last fall, uses an in-vehicle compute autonomous vehicle development kit called Nvidia Drive AGX Thor. The Gen 3 platform will allow Wayve to offer eyes-off advanced driving-assistance systems and Level 4 \u2014 or fully driverless \u2014 features that will work on city streets and highways.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s tech is somewhat similar to how Tesla has approached automated driving, although there are key differences in their business models. <\/p>\n

Wayve doesn\u2019t want to be the operator of its hands-free driving-assistance system or its \u201ceyes-off\u201d fully automated-driving system. (For comparison, Waymo is largely the operator of its robotaxis, although it does have partners.) Nor does Wayve want to build vehicles bundled with its own software, as Tesla does. Instead, it is selling its \u201cembodied AI\u201d to automakers and other tech companies like Uber. <\/p>\n

Kendall argues that this is the business model with the largest addressable market, but he says it\u2019s only viable because Wayve built an AI that generalizes across different hardware and environments.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you build an autonomy stack that\u2019s specific to a sensor or compute architecture, [or] if you build it where it requires mapping or something like this, then you can\u2019t take option three,\u201d Kendall said, referring to the business model his company has chosen.<\/p>\n

Nissan and Uber are both Wayve customers. Nissan said the startup\u2019s self-driving software will be used to beef up the advanced driver-assistance system in its cars starting in 2027<\/a>. Meanwhile, later this year, Uber plans to launch commercial trials in vehicles equipped with Wayve\u2019s software.<\/p>\n

Its relationship with Uber appears poised to stretch well beyond a pilot program, though. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi\u2019s statement Tuesday hints at the scope of its partnership with and investment in Wayve. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very proud to continue to deepen our partnership with Wayve, with plans to deploy together in more than 10 markets around the world. Wayve\u2019s powerful end-to-end approach is purpose-built for scale, safety, and effectiveness, and we\u2019re excited to work with them across multiple OEMs and geographies, which we\u2019ll share more about soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

The round was led by Eclipse, Balderton, and SoftBank Vision Fund 2. New investors include the Ontario Teachers\u2019 Pension Plan, Baillie Gifford, British Business Bank, Icehouse Ventures, Schroders Capital, and other global institutional investors, the company said. <\/p>\n

Global automakers Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Stellantis \u2014 all of which plan to use Wayve\u2019s technology \u2014 also participated. Nvidia, which participated in Wayve\u2019s $1.05 billion Series C round,<\/a> said last year it was evaluating a $500 million strategic investment in Wayve\u2019s next raise. While Nvidia did participate, Kendall wouldn\u2019t disclose the exact amount of its investment or whether it came close to that $500 million figure.<\/p>\n

Updated to include more information on the $300 million in additional funding from Uber. <\/em><\/p>\n

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… billion funding round, including three automakers<\/span>, top venture and institutional firms … eagerness among Big Tech, legacy automotive<\/span>, and the investor community to … investors, the company said.\u00c2\u00a0 Global automakers<\/span> Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Stellantis …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101364\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}