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

Comment
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 testing its autonomy stack on Jaguar I-Paces and Ford E-Transits with safety drivers behind the wheel in the U.K., and plans to start testing L2+ in new markets soon, 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 toward “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.
Correction: Wayve previously told TechCrunch it is only testing L2+ technology, but has since clarified that it is testing L3 and L4 capabilities with a human safety driver behind the wheel in the U.K.
Every weekday and Sunday, you can get the best of TechCrunch’s coverage.
Startups are the core of TechCrunch, so get our best coverage delivered weekly.
The latest Fintech news and analysis, delivered every Tuesday.
TechCrunch Mobility is your destination for transportation news and insight.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice.
Given everything you’ve already heard about AI, you may not be surprised to learn that Google is among other outfits beginning to use sound signals to predict early signs of…
Nvidia and Apple are reportedly in talks to contribute to OpenAI’s next fundraising round — a round that could value the ChatGPT maker at $100 billion. Per its sources, the…
Agrim has raised $17.3 million to expand its B2B agri-inputs platform to more manufacturers and retailers in India.
Intuitive Machines, the venture-backed startup that went public last year, will send a moon lander to the lunar south pole in 2027 as part of a $116.9 million contract awarded…
Many tech companies are expanding their reach into the web3 market, integrating blockchain and web3 technologies into their products and services. In the latest development, South Korean internet giant Naver…
Atlassian plans to integrate Rewatch into its recently launched Rovo AI platform so that transcripts become searchable within the overall business context.
Sub.club thinks premium feeds could also serve other use cases, like supporting helpful bots or generating funds to help maintain a community’s Mastodon server, for instance.
Gmail users on Android devices can now chat directly with Google’s AI assistant, Gemini, about their emails in the Gmail app. Google rolled out the new feature, Gmail Q&A, on…
It seems that the Ministry of Truth has been busy at Tesla. Some sharp-eyed folks, including reporters at Electrek, noticed that Tesla has deleted all of its blog posts prior…
When streaming to connected devices via Spotify Connect on iOS, users were previously able to use the physical buttons on their iPhone to adjust the volume. But this will no…
Magic, an AI startup creating models to generate code and automate a range of software development tasks, has raised a large tranche of cash from investors, including ex-Google CEO Eric…
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! The EV…
Ahead of the NFL and college football (NCAAF) seasons, Apple announced updates for its sports-focused app, including Live Activities for all leagues, a new “dynamic drive tracker” that visualizes where…
One of the people who successfully sued the National Association of Realtors (NAR) to change real estate commissions has co-founded a new real estate startup. It all began in 2017…
X, the Elon Musk-owned platform formerly known as Twitter, is marking some links to news organization NPR’s website as “unsafe” when users click through to read the latest story about…
Apple is likely to unveil its iPhone 16 series of phones and maybe even some Apple Watches at its Glowtime event on September 9.
Codeium, a startup developing an AI-powered tool to rival GitHub Copilot, has raised $150 million at a $1.25 billion valuation.
Seattle’s Airport is still largely offline, causing chaos among travelers and acting as a standing warning against taking cybersecurity lightly.
Earlier this month, Google released a new feature with the Pixel 9 series phone to let users add the photographer to a group photo by swapping someone out and taking…
Meta is now letting preteens with parent-managed accounts explore different experiences in its online virtual reality (VR) platform, Horizon Worlds, with certain restrictions in place. The company announced that parents…
Intel has found its first — and perhaps only — cloud customer for its Gaudi 3 AI accelerator chips: IBM Cloud.
Google said the findings were an example of how exploits developed by spyware makers can end up in the hands of “dangerous threat actors.”
Butterflies AI, the new social network where humans and AIs interact with each other, is launching a new Clones feature that turns you into an AI character. This latest addition…
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…
After spending four days in police custody, the founder and CEO of messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, was put under formal investigation in France on Thursday for a wide range…
Reliance Industries, India’s largest company by market capitalization, is not sitting out the AI frenzy that has gripped the tech world.
Durex India has exposed customers’ personal information, including full names, email and postal addresses, and order details.
Apple has added yet more AI features in its latest developer betas for iOS 18.1, and this time we’re getting the ability to remove objects from photos.
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) is getting back into the secondaries game.  The Silicon Valley-based VC raised more than $468 million for NEA Secondary Opportunity Fund, according to an SEC filing.…
One-click checkout tech company Bolt is still waiting to find out if shareholders will sign off on a proposed funding round with stipulations that founder Ryan Breslow would return as CEO. In…
Powered by WordPress VIP

source
Sponsor:News technical sponsor
Sponsor:News AI sponsor
Sponsor: AI sponsor
Sponsor: AI sponsor