British autonomous driving startup Wayve is in early talks with Microsoft and SoftBank for a potential $2 billion funding round. According to the Financial Times, the London-based AI company would be valued at $8 billion.
Founded in 2017 by Cambridge PhD students Alex Kendall and Amar Shah, Wayve has developed a groundbreaking approach to self-driving cars that uses machine learning and computer vision to teach vehicles to drive using real-world videos and data – rather than relying on pre-programmed rules.
The fast-growing company is already backed by an elite list of investors including SoftBank, Nvidia, Microsoft, Ilya Sutskever (co-founder of OpenAI) and Yann LeCun (chief AI scientist of Meta). Last year, SoftBank led a $1 billion round, with Nvidia adding another $500 million in September during CEO Jensen Huang’s high-profile visit to London with President Trump.
Wayve’s AI-powered software is designed to make any car hands-free. It is currently being tested with retail and logistics partners such as Asda, Ocado and Uber. Road tests in the UK are planned for next spring. The company has also signed a groundbreaking deal with Nissan that aims to integrate its technology into Nissan vehicles by 2027.
From humble beginnings in a garage, Wayve now employs over 800 people across six countries, making it one of the UK’s most internationally ambitious AI companies. The planned investment, if completed, would signal continued confidence in the UK’s AI innovation sector at a time when global competition in autonomous driving and artificial general intelligence is intensifying.
A key advantage of Wayve’s approach is its ability to handle unpredictable scenarios – such as pedestrians stepping onto the road or suddenly swerving from other vehicles – making the company a strong contender in the race to scale safe and adaptable self-driving solutions.
Industry experts hope that the introduction of self-driving cars will dramatically reduce the number of road accidents by removing human error, drunk driving and road rage from the equation.
Wayve declined to comment on the fundraising discussions.
