Wayve, the UK developer of AI software for autonomous driving, has added $60 mn to its Series D round through fresh backing from major technology investors.
AMD, Arm and Qualcomm Ventures made the new investment. The extension follows Wayve’s February announcement of a $1.2 bn Series D, alongside the prospect of a further $300 mn from Uber to support Wayve-powered robotaxis on Uber’s network.
The London company now carries a valuation of almost $9 bn as it pushes beyond AI research and into commercial deployment of its end-to-end platform (see about Impact of Electric Vehicles on the Insurance Industry).
Wayve’s earlier Series D round was led by Eclipse, Balderton and SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Baillie Gifford, British Business Bank, Icehouse Ventures, Schroders Capital and other institutional investors also joined.
Microsoft, NVIDIA and Uber participated, alongside automakers Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Stellantis.
Wayve started applying end-to-end AI to autonomous driving in 2017. Since then, the company has turned its safety-by-design architecture into a production-ready autonomy platform.
Consumers are expected to encounter Wayve-powered robotaxis through commercial Uber trials from 2026. Passenger vehicles equipped with Wayve’s AI Driver are due to reach buyers from 2027, starting with Level 2+ hands-off capability, where the vehicle steers, navigates and responds to traffic under driver supervision.
The company licenses its AI Driver directly to carmakers. It also provides tools for tailoring driving models to specific vehicles and brands.
The system runs fully on onboard compute and embedded sensors, without relying on high-definition maps or location-specific engineering.
Wayve has chosen a lower-capital model. Rather than building a vertically integrated operation, it works with automakers and mobility platforms to scale autonomy across multiple markets.
Uber committed another $300 mn to support multi-year deployment of Wayve-powered robotaxis across its network. The companies plan to launch their first service in London in 2026, then expand internationally. According to Beinsure analysts, the aim is to scale across more than 10 markets (see UK Motor Insurers Expand EV Insurance Offerings).
Alex Kendall, Wayve’s co-founder and chief executive, said embodied AI will only scale if automakers keep design choice and supply-chain flexibility. He said Wayve is building an AI Driver which works across the automotive compute stack, from systems already installed in millions of vehicles to platforms built for the next generation of automated cars.
For embodied AI to scale, automakers need design choice and supply chain flexibility. We’re building an AI Driver that works across the full automotive compute ecosystem, from architectures already used in millions of vehicles today to the platforms powering the next generation of automated vehicles.
Alex Kendall, co-founder and CEO of Wayve
He said deeper ties with major silicon groups will help move the technology into production at global scale, and he welcomed their active role in integration and deployment.
“Expanding our relationships with leading silicon companies helps bring that into production at a global scale, and we’re delighted to have these partners actively working with us on integration and deployment,” Alex Kendall said.
Salil Raje, senior vice president and general manager of AMD’s Adaptive and Embedded Computing Group, said AI is moving into physical systems, which changes compute requirements. He said the focus shifts from models to systems which sense, decide and act reliably in real time.
AI is moving into real-world systems, and that changes compute demands. It stops being about models and becomes about physical AI systems that have to sense, decide, and act reliably and in real-time. We see Wayve’s approach as an important step in bringing technologies like AI Driver into production at scale.
Salil Raje, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Adaptive and Embedded Computing Group at AMD
Spencer Collins, executive vice president and head of corporate development at Arm, said AI is pushing the auto sector into a new phase of more intelligent and autonomous vehicles.
He said those vehicles need high-performance, power-efficient compute platforms across a broad and changing ecosystem. He added that Arm sees its platform as a foundation for AI-defined vehicles, and said the investment in Wayve reflects that view.
Quinn Li, senior vice president at Qualcomm Technologies and global head of Qualcomm Ventures, said AI is becoming central to the driving experience, and getting it into vehicles depends on tight coordination between software and automotive platforms.
He said Qualcomm’s work with Wayve reflects a shared push to help automakers bring AI Driver into production across different vehicle programmes and long-term roadmaps, including Snapdragon Ride.
