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Autonomous driving company Wayve, founded in 2017, has officially raised $1.2 billion in funding following a successful Series D investment round. This new development accelerates Wayve’s post-money valuation to $8.6 billion, making it one of the UK’s most valuable AI startups.
The investment round was backed by investors including Microsoft, world-leading chipmaker Nvidia, ride-hail provider Uber, and automakers including Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis.
This funding boost coincides with Wayve’s decision to begin commercial robotaxi trials in 2026, starting in the UK capital. Wayve has also stated that its self-driving technology will be available in consumer vehicles by 2027.
Alex Kendall, Wayve’s co-founder and chief executive, laid out this roadmap in an interview with the Financial Times, stating:
“Wayve is moving from an R&D stage to a commercialisation phase. We’ve got the partnerships, the strategic support, and the capital we need to license software that’s going to be in vehicles that will be owned and operated for a decade or more. This continues to give us the escape velocity to build this as an independent company.”
Wayve’s recent commercial expansion positions it in a head-to-head race with Alphabet-owned autonomous robotaxi service Waymo, which unveiled its own plans to begin commercial trials in London earlier this year.
While Wayve is dwarfed by Waymo’s $126 billion valuation following a successful funding round of its own at the beginning of the month, the company is betting on a number of strategic partnerships to accelerate and scale at pace.
Among these partnerships is an alliance with Japanese OEM Nissan, which is set to debut its first vehicle using Wayve’s software in the Japanese market as early as 2027.
Alex Kendall has also spoken about the “generalisable” nature of Wayve’s software, which, unlike rivals Tesla and Waymo, is not built for a specific vehicle or driving situation. Wayve hopes this adaptable approach to autonomous technology — in which the software can be deployed across different vehicles and models — will give the group a competitive edge against larger rivals.
Wayve’s Series D investment round was led by venture capital firms Eclipse Capital, Balderton Capital, and SoftBank Group.
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