British startup Wayve announced on Tuesday that it had gathered $1.05 billion in funding. This investment round was led by SoftBank from Japan, with participation from new investor Nvidia and existing investor Microsoft.
This big funding boost shows people believe in Wayve’s self-driving car technology. The company, based in Cambridge, wants to make self-driving cars that people can trust and use daily.
Alex Kendall, one of Wayve’s founders, said they want to make self-driving technology that solves the industry’s challenges in reaching everyone.
Wayve, started in 2017, is among many companies working on self-driving cars. Unlike Tesla, which makes its cars, Wayve provides its self-driving technology to other companies, like retailers and carmakers.
Wayve’s technology uses cameras and sensors to help cars steer cities safely without human control. They focus on developing “embodied AI” for self-driving cars, which means the AI can understand and handle unexpected situations on the road like people crossing.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak praised Wayve’s achievement, saying it shows the UK’s leadership in technology. He highlighted the UK’s history of innovation and its role in developing new technologies like AI and self-driving cars.
The UK government also shared that between 2018 and 2022, the self-driving car sector attracted £475 million in investment and created 1,500 new jobs.
