Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has pledged to the UK this week to invest £2 billion ($2.6 billion) to charge the country’s AI startup ecosystem. Wayve, a UK-based autonomous driving technology startup, could be one of the ways to receive funding from NVIDIA’s AI investment commitments, the company told TechCrunch.
Wayve said it has signed an intent with Nvidia to assess the $500 million strategic investment in the UK startup’s next funding round. Nvidia took part in Wayve’s $1.05 billion Series C round, which was closed in May 2024.
A Wayve spokesman confirmed that the $500 million interim commitment is part of NVIDIA’s AI startup investment pledge.
Nvidia said at an event Thursday that the £2 billion commitment will include funding from venture capital investors Axel, Air Street Capital, Balderton, Hoxton Ventures and Phoenix Court. An Nvidia spokesperson declined to comment on the announcement of the intent.
Wayve co-founder and CEO Alex Kendall did not provide TechCrunch with an expected end date for the Series D round. Kendall said the company was “working quickly towards it.”
Launched in 2017, Wayve has attracted attention and investors for automated driving systems that use a self-learning and rules-based approach to autonomous driving software. Wayve’s end-to-end neural network doesn’t require high-resolution maps, it just uses data to teach the vehicle how to drive. Its data-driven learning approach is used for fully automated driving systems that “eye up” and “eye off” driving.
The company plans to sell “embodied AI” to automakers and other high-tech companies.
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Wayve’s self-learning approach, similar to the strategy used by Tesla, is seen as particularly attractive to automakers as it does not rely on specific sensors or maps. This means that Wayve’s system can operate with existing sensors such as cameras and radars. Automated driving software captures data from these sensors and directly informs the system of driving decisions.
Additionally, Wayve’s software can be run on chips that OEM partners already have in their vehicles, but the startup has built a close development relationship with NVIDIA since 2018.
Wayve’s Generation 2 autonomous driving platform is integrated into Ford Mach E Test Vehicles and uses Nvidia GPUs. This week, the startup announced Gen 3. Gen3 is a platform that uses an automotive computing autonomous vehicle development kit called the Nvidia Drive Agx Thor. Gen 3 allows Wayve to offer Eyes-Off Advanced Driving-Assistance Systems and Level 4 unmanned features that work on city streets and highways.
Nvidia, Huang in particular, appears to be keen on part of Wayve’s future.
“Next trillion dollar companies, everyone,” fans said in a video featuring his first ride on a wave-equipped vehicle on a public road in London. The video will be viewed by TechCrunch and is set to be released soon, showing Huang handing over Kendall Nvidia’s Thor Developer Kit.
“We picked him up from the hotel and drove through central London through some very busy streets, including the corner of Hyde Park. “I really loved the experience. It was cool to show him that we’ve always been building as a result of Nvidia’s platform over the years.”
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