UK’s Wayve secures strategic investment from Uber to further develop self-driving tech | TechCrunch

Uber is making a strategic investment into Wayve as an extension of the U.K.-born startup’s previously announced $1.05 billion Series C round. The partnership will also see the two companies work with automakers to integrate Wayve’s AI into consumer vehicles that will one day operate on the ride-hail giant’s platform.

The tie-up comes a week after Uber announced Cruise’s robotaxis would join the Uber app in 2025. It’s the latest in a series of autonomous driving technology partnerships that Uber has secured over the past couple of years. 

Details about Uber’s partnership with Wayve are scant, but the startup has made a splash since it launched in Cambridge in 2017. Over the past two years, Wayve has raised over $1.3 billion from backers including SoftBank Group, Nvidia and Microsoft. 

The startup is developing a self-learning, rather than a rule-based system, for autonomous driving – similar to Tesla’s AI. Also like Tesla, Wayve doesn’t rely on lidar sensors. It uses cameras and radar to help its AI perceive the world around it. Unlike Tesla, Wayve builds its AI so that other automakers can equip consumer vehicles with its Level 2+ advanced driver assistance system, as well as Level 3 and Level 4 automated driving capabilities. 

The SAE defines Level 3 and 4 self-driving systems as ones that can operate autonomously under certain conditions. The driver still needs to be ready to take over a Level 3 system, but not with a Level 4 system. Wayve is currently still testing its L2+ technology on Jaguar I-Paces and Ford E-Transits with safety drivers behind the wheel, and has not begun testing L3 and L4, according to a Wayve spokesperson. 

Wayve did not provide more details as to the nature of its deal with Uber. In a statement, the company said the partnership “envisions future Wayve-powered self-driving vehicles being made available on Uber’s network.” 

Neither Wayve nor Uber shared a timeline for Wayve-powered vehicles joining Uber’s app; whether those vehicles would be fully self-driving or just equipped with advanced driving assistance technology; or the size of Uber’s investment. 

In a statement, Alex Kendall, Wayve’s CEO and co-founder, did say the partnership would help to “massively ramp up our AI’s fleet learning, ensuring our AV technology is safe and ready for global deployment across Uber’s network.” 

Kendall also noted that together, Wayve and Uber would “work with automotive OEMs to bring autonomous driving technologies to consumers sooner.” 

Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement that Wayve’s approach to AI “holds a ton of promise” as the company works towards “a world where modern vehicles are shared, electric and autonomous.”

“We’re thrilled to bring Wayve on as a partner to work alongside automakers as we continue to build out Uber as the best network for self-driving vehicles,” said Khosrowshahi.

In recent weeks, Uber has been positioning itself as the ideal partner for self-driving startups looking to commercialize. Waymo’s robotaxis joined the Uber platform in Phoenix last year. Uber has also partnered with autonomous sidewalk delivery robot companies – like Serve Robotics, Cartken and Coco – and autonomous freight startups – like Waabi and Aurora – to bring self-driving capabilities to Uber Eats and Uber Freight.