Self-driving tech startup Wayve raises $1.2B from Nvidia, Uber, and three automakers

Source: TechCrunch

Funding round

Wayve raised $1.2 billion in its latest financing round, bringing the company’s valuation to $8.6 billion. An additional $300 million in milestone‑based funding from Uber may push the total to $1.5 billion once robotaxi deployments begin in London.

The round was led by Eclipse, Balderton, and SoftBank Vision Fund 2. New investors include the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Baillie Gifford, British Business Bank, Icehouse Ventures, Schroders Capital, and other global institutional investors.

Technology

Founded in 2017, Wayve uses a self‑learning, end‑to‑end deep‑learning stack that does not require high‑definition maps. The software layer ingests data from whatever sensors are present on a vehicle and makes driving decisions accordingly.

Two product families stem from this approach:

• “Eyes‑on” – an assisted‑driving system.
• “Eyes‑off” – a fully automated‑driving system suitable for robotaxis or consumer vehicles operating in defined environments.

Wayve’s stack is hardware‑agnostic; it can run on the compute chips already installed by OEM partners. The company’s Gen 3 platform, unveiled last fall, runs on Nvidia’s Drive AGX Thor kit, enabling Level 4 driverless features for city streets and highways.

Business model

Wayve positions itself as a technology licensor rather than an operator or vehicle manufacturer. It sells its “embodied AI” to automakers and tech companies (e.g., Uber) while remaining agnostic to sensors, maps, and compute architectures.

Kendall argues this model offers the largest addressable market because the AI generalizes across hardware configurations, unlike stacks that are tightly coupled to specific sensors or mapping solutions.

Partnerships and customers

• Nissan – will integrate Wayve’s software into its advanced driver‑assistance systems starting in 2027.
• Uber – plans commercial trials this year and aims to deploy Wayve’s technology in more than ten markets worldwide.
• Mercedes‑Benz, Stellantis, and other global automakers have also committed to using Wayve’s stack.

Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi highlighted the partnership’s scale:

“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 and geographies.”

Investors

• Returning backers: Microsoft, Nvidia, Uber.
• Lead investors: Eclipse, Balderton, SoftBank Vision Fund 2.
• New institutional investors: Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Baillie Gifford, British Business Bank, Icehouse Ventures, Schroders Capital, among others.
• Automaker investors: Mercedes‑Benz, Nissan, Stellantis.

Nvidia, a backer since 2018, participated in Wayve’s prior $1.05 billion Series C round (see the original TechCrunch report). While Nvidia evaluated a $500 million strategic investment for the current raise, the exact amount contributed was not disclosed.

Updated to include more information on the $300 million in additional funding from Uber.