Wayve, an autonomous driving company, has reached a valuation of up to $8.6 billion by attracting new investments from Nvidia, Microsoft, and Uber.
Eclipse, Balderton, and SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led the $1.2 billion Series D round, which also included automakers Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Stellantis.
Uber intended to invest up to an additional $300 million in milestone-based capital. Alex Kendall, Wayve CEO, said in a statement, “We are building for a total addressable market that spans every vehicle that moves.”
He stated, “This investment accelerates our path to widespread commercial deployment and positions us to build the autonomy layer that will power any vehicle everywhere.”
U.K.-based Wayve was founded in 2017 and is developing autonomous driving software and artificial intelligence models, and has become one of the most valuable startups in Europe. The company had surged upwards of $1 billion before this round.
Wayve entered into a partnership with Nissan in 2025 to build its AI into the driver-assistance systems of the company and vehicles, with the technology to be deployed from 2027.
Wayve reported that the startup also has plans with Uber to introduce public robotaxi trials starting in London in 2026, and a wider expansion to more than 10 markets around the world.
Although tech companies have been promising autonomous driving over the years, the industry has encountered technical and regulatory challenges. Level 5 automation, involving cars driving anywhere without necessarily having humans in the loop, has been elusive.
However, AI has seen new developments, prompting fresh enthusiasm in the industry. Alphabet-owned Waymo declared on Wednesday that it had opened its robotaxi service to some public passengers in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been boasting of the company as an autonomous mobility leader, and Amazon’s Zoox opened up rides to the public in 2025.
