Wayve raises $200M to accelerate the development of AV2.0, the next wave of Autonomous Vehicles

This latest round of funding brings total equity raised to over $258 million since inception and reinforces Wayve’s position as a leader in autonomous driving, pioneering an AI-led approach to autonomous vehicles on a global scale.

Eclipse Ventures led the round with new investors include D1 Capital Partners, Baillie Gifford, Moore Strategic Ventures and Linse Capital. There was additional support from Microsoft, Virgin, Compound and Balderton. Balderton first invested in Wayve at Series A. Wayve’s investors also include Ocado Group and a prominent list of AI and industrial leaders, such as Sir Richard Branson, Rosemary Leith, Linda Levinson, David Richter, Pieter Abbeel, and Yann LeCunn.

Alex Kendall

Wayve’s AV2.0 technology is designed to be the most adaptable AV system for fleet operators. It combines the advantages of a lean, camera-first sensing suite with the
embodied intelligence of an end-to-end deep learning system that continually learns from petabyte-scale driving data provided by Wayve’s partner fleets, including Ocado Group,
Asda, and DPD.By using machine learning, Wayve is building a more scalable AV platform that can quickly and safely adapt its driving intelligence to new cities, different use-cases and vehicle types. This unlocks the potential to scale commercial deployments to other cities more quickly than the conventional AV approach, which typically relies on an expensive and complex array of sensors and is operationally limited by HD maps and rules-based control strategies. 

The new capital raised will enable Wayve to continue to grow its team, develop a Level 4+ AV prototype for passenger vehicles and delivery vans, scale its deployments on partner fleets to commence last-mile delivery pilots, and develop the data infrastructure to improve its core autonomy platform at fleet scale. Achieving this will improve the accessibility of AV
technology, allowing more businesses and individuals to benefit from safer, sustainable and more reliable forms of transportation.

Read more about the fundraise: 

• CNBC: Autonomous driving start-up Wayve bags $200 million from Microsoft, Virgin and Baillie Gifford
• The Telegraph: Start-up plans driverless deliveries for Ocado and Asda this year
• Sifted: Wayve’s alternative autonomous driving approach gets $200m funding boost