Wayve secures over 1 billion dollars in Series C financing round

Revolution in autonomous mobility: Wayve secures over $1 billion to develop embodied AI products for autonomous driving!

London, May 2024 - UK-based Wayve has announced that it has raised over $1.05 billion in a Series C funding round. The round was led by SoftBank Group, while new investor NVIDIA and existing investor Microsoft also participated.

Embodied AI - A new era of autonomous mobility

Wayve aims to redefine autonomous mobility through embodied intelligence. This form of artificial intelligence goes beyond traditional approaches such as generative AI and large-scale language models. It integrates advanced AI directly into vehicles and robots to improve their interaction with human behavior in real-world environments.

The potential of this type of technology is transformative; it could prevent 99% of traffic accidents.

Kentaro Matsui, Managing Partner SoftBank and Boardmember Wayve

Founded in 2017, Wayve has positioned itself as a pioneer in the development of embodied AI for autonomous driving. The company was the first to develop and test an end-to-end AI autonomous driving system on public roads. This work laid the foundation for the development of foundational models for autonomy that enable any vehicle to perceive its environment and navigate safely through different situations.

Investing in the future of autonomous driving

The Series C investment will enable Wayve to further develop and bring to market its embodied AI products for production vehicles. These products will enable car manufacturers to efficiently upgrade vehicles to higher levels of vehicle automation. In addition, Wayve plans to scale its foundational models, advance research on embodied AI and build a leading platform for autonomous driving.

Together, we can enable self-driving vehicles that offer the intelligence, reliability and capabilities of the best human drivers.

Rishi Dhall, Vice President Automotive Business at NVIDIA

The investment has been welcomed by industry leaders including SoftBank Group, NVIDIA and Microsoft. Kentaro Matsui of SoftBank Investment Advisers emphasized the transformative power of AI for mobility. Rishi Dhall from NVIDIA praised Wayve's pioneering work in new AI applications for autonomous driving. Dominik Wee from Microsoft emphasized the importance of partnerships in developing and delivering innovative AI products for the automotive industry.

Conclusion

Wayve's success in the Series C funding round marks a significant milestone in the development of embodied AI for autonomous driving. The investment will help drive the future of autonomous mobility and bring a new level of intelligence to vehicles.

Wayve's latest Series C funding round should serve as a clear signal to German carmakers that something urgently needs to change. At a time when the development of embodied AI for autonomous driving is gaining momentum worldwide, German car manufacturers must not be left behind. It is time for them to step up their innovation efforts and position themselves at the forefront of this technology wave. They may find exciting approaches in the domestic start-up landscape to grow and compete in this area.