Driverless car firm bags £1.1bn investment ahead of major UK launch
British self-driving car firm Wayve has secured a significant $1.5 billion (£1.1 billion) in funding, including major backing from Uber, Microsoft, and chip giant Nvidia, as it prepares to launch robotaxis on UK roads.
The bulk of this capital, $1.2 billion dollars (£890 million) stems from a Series D funding round, one of the largest ever for a British start−up.
This round, which values Wayve at $8.6 billion (£6.4 billion), saw participation from institutional investors and car makers, including Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Stellantis. Uber’s additional investment specifically targets its driverless taxi services.
The funding arrives as Wayve prepares to roll out commercial robotaxi trials in London later this year, in partnership with ride-hailing platform Uber.
The company aims for a full commercial launch in the city by 2026, with ambitions to integrate its “supervised autonomy software” into consumer vehicles from 2027.
Wayve’s innovative technology relies on artificial intelligence models that learn to drive by analysing video content, driving data, and recognising complex patterns.
US rival Waymo has also revealed plans to make its driverless private hire vehicles available in London from next year.
Wayve’s fresh funding round was led by investors Eclipse, Balderton and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and also saw new investment from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Baillie Gifford, British Business Bank, Icehouse Ventures, Schroders Capital and other institutional investors.
Bosses said the investment will accelerate Wayve’s plans to launch its technology into commercial vehicles.
Alex Kendall, co-founder and chief executive of Wayve, said: “With 1.5 billion dollars secured, we are building for a total addressable market that spans every vehicle that moves.
“Autonomy will not scale through city-by-city robotaxi deployments alone.
“It will scale through a trusted platform that automakers and fleets can deploy globally and improve continuously.”
Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi 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.
“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 (original equipment manufacturers) and geographies, which we’ll share more about soon.”
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: “Wayve is a powerful example of the strength, ambition and potential of Britain’s innovative firms.
“This fund raise demonstrates the international confidence in our brilliant AI sector and reaffirms Britain’s position as the leading scale-up ecosystem in Europe.
“We will continue to create the conditions for world-leading firms like Wayve to start, grow and scale, creating great jobs and opportunities for people in every corner of our country.”
