Uber has announced a strategic partnership with British artificial intelligence startup Wayve, aimed at accelerating the development of autonomous driving technology. As part of the collaboration, Uber is investing in Wayve for a minority stake, though the financial details were not disclosed. This investment extends Wayve’s $1 billion Series C funding round, which was led by Japanese tech investor SoftBank and included participation from U.S. chipmaker Nvidia and software giant Microsoft.
Wayve is focused on creating a “general purpose” driving AI capable of powering all levels of driving automation across various types of vehicles worldwide. Alex Kendall, Wayve’s co-founder and CEO, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, stating that both companies are eager to collaborate with automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to bring autonomous driving technologies to consumers more quickly.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi highlighted the shared vision between the two companies to redefine mobility. He praised Wayve’s advanced Embodied AI approach, which aligns with Uber’s goals of promoting a future where vehicles are shared, electric, and autonomous.
Under the agreement, Uber will integrate Wayve’s AV2.0 technology into consumer vehicles. This algorithm-based product enables vehicles to drive autonomously by utilizing data from their physical environment. Wayve’s AV2.0 is an end-to-end AI solution that allows automakers to equip existing vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems (Level 2+) and higher levels of automation (Levels 3 and 4).
Looking ahead, Uber plans to deploy self-driving vehicles equipped with Wayve’s technology on its ride-hailing platform. This partnership follows Uber’s previous efforts in autonomous driving, including the sale of its self-driving unit to Aurora Technologies in 2020 and recent collaborations with Cruise, a General Motors-backed autonomous driving startup, and Waymo, Google’s self-driving spinoff.
This latest alliance underscores Uber’s ongoing commitment to advancing autonomous vehicle technology and expanding its role in the future of mobility.
