Wayve has announced a $1.2 billion Series D financing, valuing the UK autonomous driving software company at $8.6 billion on a post-money basis and marking one of the largest recent raises in the self-driving sector. The company said the funding is intended to accelerate its shift from an AI research-led phase into scaled commercial deployment of its end-to-end autonomous driving platform. Including additional milestone-based capital linked to its partnership with Uber, Wayve said it has secured a total of $1.5 billion to support commercial rollout.
Funding Round and Strategic Investors
The round was led by Eclipse, Balderton and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with participation from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Baillie Gifford, British Business Bank, Icehouse Ventures, Schroders Capital and other institutional investors. Strategic investors Microsoft, NVIDIA and Uber also joined the financing, alongside global automakers Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Stellantis. The composition of the round gives Wayve support from cloud infrastructure, chip ecosystems, mobility platforms and vehicle manufacturers as it prepares for broader deployment.
Commercial Rollout Timeline
Wayve said commercial robotaxi trials using its software are scheduled to begin in 2026 through Uber, creating its first major public deployment pathway in ride-hailing. The company also plans to introduce supervised autonomy software in consumer vehicles from 2027, beginning with L2+ hands-off capability that can steer, navigate and respond to traffic while the driver remains responsible for supervision. This timeline places robotaxi services and passenger vehicle licensing on parallel commercialization tracks rather than relying on a single route to market.
Uber Deployment Model and Scaling Strategy
Uber’s role extends beyond its equity participation, with the company committing additional milestone-based capital to support multi-year deployments of Wayve-powered robotaxis on the Uber network. The companies said they plan to scale to more than 10 markets globally, with London identified as the first launch market in 2026 before wider international expansion. Under the model described in the announcement, Wayve will supply its AI Driver software for L4-capable vehicles from participating automakers, while Uber will own and operate the fleet.
Technology Positioning and Performance Claims
Wayve licenses its AI Driver directly to automakers and says the system runs on onboard compute and embedded sensors without relying on high-definition maps or city-specific engineering, a design choice meant to reduce deployment friction across regions. The company also said it became the first autonomous vehicle developer to drive zero-shot in more than 500 cities across Europe, North America and Japan in a single year, which it defines as operating without city-specific fine-tuning before deployment. Wayve attributes that result to a foundation model trained on globally diverse driving data spanning more than 70 countries and multiple vehicle platforms, positioning generalization as a core differentiator.
Market Context and Stakeholder Reaction
The announcement arrives as end-to-end AI approaches have gained wider acceptance across the autonomous driving industry, with more companies emphasizing scalable learning systems over heavily hand-coded stacks. Statements from Microsoft, Uber and several automakers highlighted Wayve’s potential as a software layer that can be used across brands and geographies, while investors described the company’s long-held technical direction as increasingly aligned with market needs. UK government ministers also welcomed the raise, framing it as evidence of international confidence in Britain’s AI and mobility innovation base and citing its potential to support jobs and sector growth.
Wayve’s latest financing strengthens its position as one of the best-funded independent autonomy software companies and gives it a high-profile network of partners as it moves into a more execution-focused stage. The near-term milestones are now clearly defined, with an Uber-backed robotaxi launch planned for London in 2026 and consumer vehicle programs with supervised autonomy targeted from 2027. Whether the company can translate technical progress and investor backing into reliable large-scale deployments will determine the long-term significance of this funding round.