UK-based Wayve secures strategic investment from Uber to further develop autonomous driving technology

Uber is making a strategic investment in Wayve as an extension of the British startup’s previously announced $1.05 billion Series C funding round. The partnership will even see each firms work with automakers to integrate Wayve’s AI into consumer vehicles that can at some point run on the ride-hailing giant’s platform.

The tie-up comes per week after Uber announced that Cruise’s robot taxi would join the Uber app in 2025. It is the newest in a series of self-driving technology partnerships that Uber has secured over the past few years.

Details about Uber’s partnership with Wayve are scarce, however the startup has made a splash since its founding in Cambridge in 2017. Over the past two years, Wayve has raised greater than $1.3 billion from investors including SoftBank Group, Nvidia and Microsoft.

The startup is developing a self-learning, quite than rule-based, autonomous driving system—similar to Tesla’s AI. Like Tesla, Wayve doesn’t depend on lidar sensors. It uses cameras and radar to help its AI perceive the world around it. Unlike Tesla, Wayve is constructing its AI in order that other automakers can equip consumer vehicles with Level 2+ advanced driver assistance systems, in addition to Level 3 and Level 4 automated driving features.

SAE defines Level 3 and Level 4 autonomous driving systems are those who can operate autonomously under certain conditions. A driver still needs to be ready to take control of a Level 3 system, but not a Level 4 system. Wayve is currently still testing its L2+ technology in 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 didn’t provide further details on the character of its agreement with Uber. In a press release, the corporate said the partnership “envisages future Wayve-powered autonomous vehicles being available on the Uber network.”

Neither Wayve nor Uber have provided a timeline for when Wayve-powered vehicles will likely be included in Uber’s app. They haven’t disclosed whether the vehicles will likely be fully autonomous or equipped only with advanced driver-assist technology. They haven’t said how much Uber is investing.

In a press release, Alex Kendall, CEO and co-founder of Wayve, said the partnership will help “significantly increase the AI ​​learning capacity of our fleet, ensuring our AV technology is safe and ready for global deployment across the Uber network.”

Kendall also noted that Wayve and Uber will jointly “work with automotive OEMs to bring autonomous driving technologies to consumers faster.”

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a press release that Wayve’s approach to AI “holds enormous promise” as the corporate strives for “a world where modern vehicles are shared, electric, and autonomous.”

“We are excited to have Wayve as our partner to help us build Uber into the premier network for autonomous vehicles,” Khosrowshahi said.

In recent weeks, Uber has positioned itself as a super partner for self-driving startups looking to enter the market. A Waymo robotaxi joined Uber’s platform in Phoenix last yr. Uber has also partnered with firms which can be making autonomous sidewalk delivery robots, including Serve Robotics, Cartken and Coco – and autonomous freight startups like Waabi and Aurora, which aim to bring autonomous driving capabilities to Uber Eats and Uber Freight.