Important Points
Wayve, a British firm developing self-driving technology, announced that it has secured $1 billion in a Series C funding round headed by SoftBank.
The software behemoth Microsoft and American chipmaker Nvidia, which invests heavily in AI companies, also supported the investment.
Established in 2017, Wayve is among the firms striving to facilitate self-driving cars.
In an investment round headed by Japan's SoftBank, the British startup Wayve announced on Tuesday that it had raised $1.05 billion to further develop its self-driving car technology.
U.S. chipmaker Nvidia and longtime supporter of AI companies Microsoft, a major software company, participated in the Series C fundraising round.
The funding is a significant endorsement for the Cambridge-based company. It also adds to the vast sums of money being invested in the AI industry at the moment.
Alex Kendall, co-founder and CEO of Wayve, stated in a statement, "At Wayve, our vision is to develop autonomous technology that not only becomes a reality in millions of vehicles but also earns people's trust by seamlessly integrating into their everyday lives to unlock extraordinary value."
"This noteworthy fundraising achievement demonstrates our team's unwavering belief that Embodied AI will solve the persistent issues the industry has encountered in bringing this technology to everyone, everywhere."
Established in 2017, Wayve is among the businesses striving to facilitate autonomous driving — a technology that permits automobiles to operate efficiently without human intervention.
In contrast to Tesla, which produces its own vehicles, Wayve licenses its autonomous technology to other businesses, including as stores and automakers.
a show of support for UK technology
In order to guarantee that cars may safely travel through heavily packed metropolitan areas with little to no human supervision, Wayve employs a number of cameras and sensors to map out its environmental surroundings.
The company's primary goal is to create "embodied AI" technology—AI that can comprehend and adjust to erratic physical realities—for self-driving cars.
For instance, an autonomous vehicle traveling on a residential route would need to be prepared for unforeseen circumstances like jaywalking.
The announcement of Wayve's most recent fundraising round was greeted on Tuesday by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who called it a "testament to our leadership in this industry."
"The UK has a proud record of being at the forefront of some of the biggest technological advancements in history, from the first electric light bulb or the World Wide Web, to AI and self-driving cars," Sunak said in a statement.
"That innovators like Wayve are based in the UK and are setting new standards in the development of the next generation of AI models for self-driving cars fills me with immense pride."
According to the government, the self-driving car industry in the United Kingdom produced 1,500 new jobs and £475 million in direct investment between 2018 and 2022..