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Uber has also agreed to make a strategic investment in Wayve as an extension of the company’s previously announced Series C fundraising round. In the Series C funding round in May, led by Softbank, Nvidia and Microsoft, Wayve raised $1.05 billion.
With the additional funding and support from Uber, said to be under $100 million, Wayve intends to accelerate its work with global OEMs to enhance consumer vehicles with Level 2+ advanced driver assistance and Level 3 automated driving capabilities, while also working towards the development of globally scalable Level 4 autonomous vehicles for future deployment on Uber.
Distinct from traditional AV approaches, Wayve has a unique focus on mapless end-to-end AI technology, designed to allow automated vehicles to operate without geofenced limits.
Instead of feeding instructions into software programmes, Wayve’s approach uses videos of real-life driving situations and data collected from driving experience to teach a system how to drive. Ocado and Asda are Wayve partners.
The partnership envisions future Wayve-powered self-driving vehicles being made available on the Uber network in multiple markets around the world, bringing Wayve’s leading technology to Uber’s more than 150 million monthly global users.
Alex Kendall, Co-founder and CEO of Wayve:
“Wayve is building a ‘general purpose’ driving Al that can power all levels of driving automation in any type of vehicle, anywhere in the world. I’m excited to be teaming up with Uber, the largest mobility network in the world, to massively ramp up our AI’s fleet learning, ensuring our AV technology is safe and ready for global deployment across Uber’s network. Together, we’re excited to work with Automotive OEMs to bring autonomous driving technologies to consumers sooner.”
Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber:
“Uber and Wayve share a vision of reimagining mobility for the better. Wayve’s advanced Embodied AI approach holds a ton of promise as we work towards a world where modern vehicles are shared, electric and autonomous. We’re thrilled to bring Wayve on as a partner to work alongside automakers as we continue to build out Uber as the best network for self-driving vehicles.”
