Wayve Secures $1B Funding to Expand its Tesla-like Self-Driving Technology to Various Carmakers
Wayve, a startup originating from the U.K., which is making strides towards developing an autonomous driving system based on self-learning instead of pre-defined rules, has successfully completed a massive $1.05 billion Series C funding round. The round was led by SoftBank Group. This funding is a notable achievement as it is the single largest AI funding in the U.K. and also finds a place among the top 20 AI fundings worldwide.
Notable participants of the funding round included Nvidia and current investor Microsoft. Additionally, Wayve’s early investors encompassed the head of AI at Meta, Yann LeCun.
Having its roots in Cambridge since 2017, Wayve was able to secure $200 million in Series B funding as recently as January 2022, a round led by Eclipse Ventures.
The company’s plans for the new influx of funding include enhancing its product for applications like “eyes on” assisted driving and “eyes off” fully automated driving, along with other AI-supported vehicular uses. Global expansion of its operations is also on Wayve’s agenda.
San Francisco is recognized as a hub for the launch of self-driving vehicles, with both Waymo, owned by Alphabet, and Cruise, owned by GM, offering services in the city. On the other hand, Wayve’s comprehensive autonomous driving system was initially developed on the petite streets of Cambridge using an electric Renault Twizy.
The model has since been trained on delivery vehicles for companies such as UK-based grocery delivery company Ocado, which invested a substantial $13.6 million in the start-up.
Wayve’s strategy for autonomous driving parallels that of Tesla, but it intends to offer its autonomous driving model to various auto OEMs. This suggests that Wayve will collect additional training data to enhance its model, unlike Tesla which depends on the purchase of their brand of cars. The company, however, has yet to announce potential automotive partners.
Wayve describes its hardware-independent, mapless product as an “Embodied AI”, and is set to distribute its platform not only to auto manufacturers but also to robotics firms serving makers of all types, enabling the system to learn from human conduct across a range of everyday environments. The company’s research on multimodal and generative models—referred to as LINGO and GAIA—will deliver “language-responsive interfaces, personalized driving styles, and co-piloting”, as pledged by the company.
Wayve co-founder and CEO Alex Kendall has shared in an interview with TechCrunch that the company was formed seven years ago with the goal of constructing an embodied artificial intelligence (AI). Progress has been made over the years, with notable achievements being made in the past year.
Kendall attributes the company’s recent accomplishments to a significant shift within the auto industry. New automobiles are now equipped with an array of cameras, providing a wealth of data that Wayve’s autonomous platform can utilize. He notes that modern production vehicles feature GPUs, surrounding cameras, and radars, which opens up a new realm of possibilities for AI integration in the journey from assisted to automated driving. This recent funding round serves as validation for Wayve’s technological approach and provides the financial means to transform this technology into a marketable product.
Kendall also shared that there are ambitious plans for expanding into the robotics field. It will soon be possible for consumers to purchase a new car with Wayve’s AI technology incorporated. Wayve’s vision extends beyond just vehicles and aims to enable all sorts of embodied AI. Kendall goes on to explain that the ultimate goal is to evolve the current state of AI from language models and chatbots to trustworthy intelligent machines capable of enhancing our lives through task delegation. Autonomous driving is just the beginning of this vision.
Noting the significance of the fundraise for the U.K, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed support, stating “From the genesis of the first electric bulb or the internet, to AI and autonomous vehicles — the U.K. has a phenomenal track record of standing at the cutting edge of major technological revolutions in history.”
“I’m overwhelmingly proud that the U.K. serves as a base for innovators like Wayve, who are disrupting industries as they build the upcoming generation of AI for self-driving cars. The reality that an indigenous, British firm has secured the largest investment so far in a U.K. AI corporation underscores our leadership in this sector, and affirms that our plan for the economy is reaping results,” he shared.
“We are making every possible effort to generate the economic landscape for businesses to flourish in the U.K. Presently, we have the third-highest count of AI companies and private AI investment globally, and this declaration solidifies the U.K.’s status as a powerhouse in AI,” he furthered.
Expressing his thoughts, Kentaro Matsui, the managing partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers and a member of the Wayve board, mentioned: “AI is dramatically transforming mobility … The impact of this kind of technology can be life-changing; it holds the potential to eradicate 99% of traffic mishaps. SoftBank Group is thrilled to lead this endeavor with Wayve, as advanced AI reshapes mobility and connectivity, contributing to a more comfortable and safer society.”
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