Nvidia backs UK self-driving start-up Wayve in US$1 billion round
- The fundraising – one of the largest ever for a European artificial intelligence company – was led by SoftBank Group, with existing investor Microsoft putting in further funds
- Competing with the likes of Alphabet’s Waymo, Wayve’s technology aims to learn driving rules and patterns on its own, rather than needing them to be programmed in
US chip maker Nvidia is investing in Wayve Technologies, joining a US$1.05 billion funding round for the UK start-up that wants to get its autonomous-driving technology into cars.
The fundraising – one of the largest ever for a European artificial intelligence company – was led by SoftBank Group, with existing investor Microsoft putting in further funds. The valuation was not disclosed.
The cash injection underscores the continued investor demand for AI, and is a boost for the self-driving car industry, which has suffered setbacks in recent years in its efforts to convince regulators driverless cars are safe.
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Wayve wants carmakers and other fleet operators to install its technology into their vehicles, rather than own or operate the cars themselves. The company received interest from several car companies about investing, but decided not to close off its options in future by partnering with a single manufacturer, Chief Executive Officer Alex Kendall said in an interview at Wayve’s headquarters in London.
Talks are continuing with carmakers about rolling out the technology in their vehicles, he added.
Kendall, who founded Wayve in 2017, plans to begin with driver assist technology – which will still require someone behind the wheel – before targeting vehicles that can operate without any human involvement.
Competing with the likes of Alphabet’s Waymo, Wayve’s technology aims to learn driving rules and patterns on its own, rather than needing them to be programmed in, so it can respond to new places and unpredictable scenarios on the road.
Other autonomous-driving companies have faced setbacks. Last October, a woman in San Francisco was dragged under a vehicle operated by Cruise, General Motors’ self-driving unit, after she was hit by a human driver in a different car. The accident and subsequent withholding of evidence led to Cruise being stripped of it permit and having its cars recalled.
In 2022, Argo AI shut down after backer Ford Motor decided it needed to invest in driver-assistance technology that was more achievable in the near term rather than Argo’s goal of driving with little human interaction. Uber Technologies also sold its driverless car unit in 2020.
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The funds raised will be spent on new staff and computing. The start-up had already raised more than US$258 million from investors including Eclipse Ventures, Balderton Capital, Baillie Gifford & Co. D1 Capital Partners, Moore Strategic Ventures, Virgin and Ocado Group.
Last year, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates was filmed testing Wayve’s system in central London with Kendall.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the funding showed the UK is an AI superpower.
This should be the last time the company raises a large chunk of money as it starts to profit from commercial deals, Kendall said. The business model is to charge car companies a license fee to use the technology.
The company announced plans last month to open a research centre in Vancouver to accelerate its growth. It is Wayve’s third location after London and Mountain View, California.
