British AI company Wayve has raised $1.05 billion in a Series C funding round led by SoftBank Group, with contributions from NVIDIA and Microsoft. The funds will be used to develop Embodied AI products for autonomous driving. Embodied AI integrates advanced AI into vehicles and robots, transforming how machines interact with and comprehend human behavior. Wayve, founded in 2017, was the first to develop and test an end-to-end deep learning autonomous driving system on public roads. The investment will support Wayve in launching the first Embodied AI products for production vehicles, enabling cars to upgrade to higher levels of driving automation.
Wayve Secures $1.05 Billion in Funding for Embodied AI Development
Wayve, a British AI company, has announced a $1.05 billion Series C investment round. The funding round was led by SoftBank Group, with contributions from new investor NVIDIA and existing investor Microsoft. The investment will be used to accelerate Wayve’s mission to reimagine autonomous mobility through embodied intelligence.
Embodied AI is a form of artificial intelligence that integrates advanced AI into vehicles and robots. This technology aims to transform how machines interact with, comprehend, and learn from human behavior in real-world environments. It is seen as a significant step towards improving the usability and safety of autonomous driving systems.
Wayve, founded in 2017, has been at the forefront of developing embodied AI for autonomous driving. The company was the first to develop and test an end-to-end deep learning autonomous driving system on public roads. Currently, Wayve is building foundation models for autonomy, similar to a ‘GPT for driving,’ that can empower any vehicle to see, think, and drive through any environment.
The Impact of Embodied AI on Autonomous Driving
The integration of embodied AI into vehicles and robots is expected to lead to a paradigm shift in how machines interact with and learn from human behavior in real-world environments. This innovation holds tremendous potential to enhance the usability and safety of autonomous driving systems. It empowers them with the intelligence to confidently navigate situations that do not follow strict patterns or rules, such as unexpected actions by drivers, pedestrians, or environmental elements.
Wayve has dedicated years of extensive research and development to establishing itself in the field of embodied AI for autonomous driving. They have developed hardware-agnostic AI driving models for mapless autonomous driving and a suite of innovative technologies designed to rapidly enhance their AI models using real-world and simulated data.
Wayve’s Vision for the Future of Autonomous Driving
Wayve’s 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. This significant funding milestone highlights the team’s conviction that embodied AI will address the long-standing challenges the industry has faced in scaling this technology to everyone, everywhere.
The collaboration with SoftBank, NVIDIA, and Microsoft will help advance Wayve’s mission to redefine driving with AI at the core. This investment will enable the company to develop and launch its first embodied AI products for the automotive industry, empowering OEMs to provide consumers with trustworthy and beneficial automated driving experiences.
The Role of Investors in Wayve’s Mission
The investors in this funding round have expressed their belief in Wayve’s mission and the transformative potential of embodied AI. Kentaro Matsui, Managing Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, stated that AI is revolutionizing mobility and that the potential of this type of technology is transformative. Rishi Dhall, Vice President of Automotive Business at NVIDIA, praised Wayve’s pioneering new AI applications for their next-generation AV2.0 approach. Dominik Wee, Corporate Vice President of Manufacturing and Mobility at Microsoft, expressed pleasure at working with Wayve to develop and deploy Wayve’s end-to-end AI autonomous driving products for automotive enterprise customers.
Wayve’s Plans for the Future
The Series C investment enables Wayve to fully develop and launch the first embodied AI products for production vehicles. Wayve’s hardware-agnostic, mapless product solutions allow OEMs to efficiently software upgrade cars to higher levels of driving automation as Wayve’s AI models progress. The company will also focus on scaling its foundation models, advancing embodied AI research, and building an industry-leading AV2.0 Platform with reliable simulation, measurement, and active learning tools for automotive applications. Finally, funds will enable Wayve to expand operations and partnerships in new markets, building geographically diverse data assets and attracting global talent.
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