Microsoft, Nvidia, and Uber Are Betting Big on This Autonomous Driving Startup. It’s Now Valued at $8.6 Billion

British startup Wayve makes AI software to power self-driving cars. Microsoft and other tech heavyweights are all in.

BY CHLOE AIELLO, REPORTER @CHLOBO_ILO

Photo: Courtesy Wayve

Microsoft, Nvidia, and Uber just invested some serious cash in a British autonomous vehicle startup.

London-based Wayve announced it closed a $1.2 billion series D round of funding on Wednesday, which values the company at about $8.6 billion. Eclipse, Balderton, and SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led the round, which included participation from Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Stellantis, as well as Microsoft, Nvidia, and Uber.

“Wayve is pushing the frontier of embodied AI for autonomous driving, and Azure supports the scale, reliability, and safety needed to bring that innovation into the real world,” Microsoft chairman and CEO Satya Nadella said in a statement. “Through our partnership and investment, we’re helping accelerate the path from breakthrough research to scaled commercial deployment with automakers worldwide.”

Wayve makes artificial intelligence-powered software that automakers can license to use in their own vehicles. The company boasts on its website that the product is “designed for universal compatibility,” ideally allowing automakers to integrate it into any vehicle and customize it to fit with their own automated driving systems. 

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Wayve offers options that range from level one autonomy—involving features like speed assist, adaptive cruise control, and blind spot monitoring—all the way to level four autonomy. Called AI Driver, the level-four option allows for hands-free, eyes-off driving on city roads, and is designed for robotaxis and autonomous delivery, according to the company.

“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,” Wayve co-founder and CEO Alex Kendall said in a statement on the back of the new funding.

The announcement also includes details on a deepening partnership with Uber. Together, the two companies plan to deploy their technology into 10 new global markets, starting with London in 2026. The New York Times reported that the London rollout will be a commercial trial.

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