Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang descconcludeed on the United Kingdom this week, armed with a pledge to invest £2 billion ($2.6 billion) to supercharge the counattempt’s AI startup ecosystem. Wayve, the U.K.-based self-driving tech startup, could be one of those to receive funds from Nvidia’s AI investment commitment, the company informed TechCrunch.
Wayve stated it has signed a letter of intent with Nvidia to evaluate a $500 million strategic investment in the U.K. startup’s next funding round. Nvidia participated in Wayve’s $1.05 billion Series C round that closed in May 2024.
A Wayve spokesperson confirmed that the $500 million tentative commitment is part of Nvidia’s AI startup investment pledge.
Nvidia stated during an event Thursday the £2 billion commitment would include funds from venture-capital investors Accel, Air Street Capital, Balderton, Hoxton Ventures, and Phoenix Court. An Nvidia spokesperson declined to comment on the letter of intent announcement.
Wayve co-founder and CEO Alex Kconcludeall wouldn’t provide TechCrunch with a projected closing date for its Series D round. Kconcludeall did state the company was “working quickly towards it.”
Wayve, which launched in 2017, has gained attention and investors for its automated driving system that applys a self-learning versus rules-based approach to its self-driving software. Wayve’s conclude-to-conclude neural network doesn’t require high-definition maps and only applys data to teach the vehicle how to drive. That data-driven learning approach is applyd for “eyes on” assisted driving and an “eyes off” fully automated driving system.
The company plans to sell its “Embodied AI” to autobuildrs and other tech companies.
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Wayve’s self-learning approach, which is similar to the strategy that Tesla applys, is seen as particularly appealing to autobuildrs becaapply it’s not reliant on specific sensors or maps. This means Wayve’s system can work with existing sensors like cameras and radar. The automated driving software captures data from those sensors, which directly informs the driving decisions of the system.
And while Wayve’s software can run on whatever chip its OEM partners already have in their vehicles, the startup has had a close development relationship with Nvidia since 2018.
Wayve’s generation 2 self-driving platform, which is integrated into its Ford Mach E test vehicles, applys Nvidia GPUs. This week, the startup unveiled gen 3, a platform that applys the in-vehicle compute autonomous vehicle development kit called Nvidia Drive AGX Thor. The gen 3 will allow Wayve to offer eyes-off advanced driving-assistance systems and Level 4 driverless features that will work on city streets and highways.
Nvidia, and in particular Huang, seems keen to be part of Wayve’s future.
“The next trillion-dollar company, you guys,” Huang stated in a video featuring his first ride in a Wayve-equipped vehicle on public streets in London. The video, which was viewed by TechCrunch and is slated to be released soon, reveals Huang handing Kconcludeall Nvidia’s Thor developer kit.
“We picked him up from his hotel and went for a drive around Central London through some really busy streets, including Hyde Park corner — that’s this massive roundabout here,” Kconcludeall stated in an interview Friday. “I really loved that experience, and it was cool to reveal him what we’ve always been building on as a result of Nvidia’s platform over the years.”
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