To further the research and production of artificial intelligence (AI) enabled cars, a UK startup called Wayve has raised £841 million ($1.05 billion) in funding, with the lead investor being the Japanese investment firm SoftBank.
With its Embodied AI method, which enables cars to pick up on human habits in the wild, Wayve is gearing up for a worldwide expansion.
The UK startup, which began operations in 2017, had previously secured £160 million ($200 million) in a Series B investment in early 2022, with Eclipse Ventures serving as the deal’s lead investor. Microsoft and NVIDIA, two titans in the IT industry, joined SoftBank in their most recent Series C investment.
Wayve CEO and co-founder Alex Kendall said the partnership will help the company achieve its goal of reimagining driving with artificial intelligence.
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“With this investment, we can finally get to work on our first Embodied AI products for the automotive industry. By empowering OEMs, we can give consumers automated driving experiences that they can trust and that benefit them,” Kendall added.
This investment is one of the biggest in artificial intelligence (AI) ever, and it’s also the biggest in Europe. Wayve believes that its dedication to research in generative AI models and multimodal models sets it apart from market competitors.
In the end, Wayve wants its AI tools to let cars develop intuition, language-responsive interfaces, and unique driving styles.
“This investment is a testament to our leadership in this industry and that our plan for the economy is working,” UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said of the investment.
Wayve has been testing autonomous vehicles, but their release date is unknown. Before AI-powered autonomous vehicles are widely available in the UK, safety and regulatory issues must be addressed.
