Dive Brief:
- Uber Technologies and autonomous driving startup Wayve will collaborate to deploy self-driving vehicles on Uber’s ride-hailing network in multiple global markets, the companies announced in a Aug. 29 press release.
- As part of the agreement, Uber will invest in Wayve as an extension of a $1.05 billion Series C funding round announced in May. The investment amount was not disclosed.
- Uber previously planned to develop autonomous driving technology in-house under its former Advanced Technologies Group, but the company is now working with industry partners after selling the unit to autonomous trucking startup Aurora for $4 billion in December 2020. Uber acquired a 26% stake in Aurora as a part of the deal.
Dive Insight:
London-based Wayve’s $1.05 billion Series C funding round was led by Japan-based SoftBank Group, with participation from Microsoft and Nvidia.
The startup intends to use the additional funding from Uber to develop its AI-powered autonomous driving technology and accelerate its work with global OEMs.
Wayve developed an autonomous driving system called the “Wayve AI Driver” that it plans to sell to automakers, but will continue to develop more advanced Level 4 autonomous driving technology to deploy on Uber’s ride-share network in the future. It could potentially bring Wayve’s technology to more than 150 million of Uber’s monthly global users, according to the release.
“Wayve’s advanced Embodied AI approach holds a ton of promise as we work towards a world where modern vehicles are shared, electric and autonomous,” said Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, in the release.
As part of the agreement, Uber will provide valuable data to Wayve collected from its vehicles. Wayve will use the data to train and improve its AI-powered autonomous driving technology.
“I’m excited to be teaming up with Uber, the largest mobility network in the world, to massively ramp up our AI’s fleet learning, ensuring our AV technology is safe and ready for global deployment across Uber’s network,” said Wayve CEO and co-founder Alex Kendall, in the press release.
Uber has also worked with other companies over the past several years with the goal of adding autonomous driving technology to its platform.
In May 2023, Uber announced another partnership with Alphabet Inc.’s autonomous driving unit Waymo with the goal of offering driverless rides in the Phoenix metro area.
Last month, Uber announced an agreement with General Motor Co.’s Cruise unit to deploy autonomous vehicles on its ride-hailing platform. Beginning next year, riders can select an autonomous Chevy Bolt-based EV for qualifying rides in San Francisco, where Cruise is based.
