Nvidia Eyes $500 Million Investment in UK Self-Driving Startup Wayve

Nvidia eyes $500M investment into self-driving tech startup Wayve | TechCrunch

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang descended on the United Kingdom this week, armed with a pledge to invest £2 billion ($2.6 billion) to supercharge the country's AI startup ecosystem. Wayve, the UK-based self-driving tech startup, could be one of those to receive funds from Nvidia's AI investment commitment, the company told TechCrunch. Wayve said 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 said 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 Kendall wouldn't provide TechCrunch with a projected closing date for its Series D round. Kendall did say the company was "working quickly towards it." Wayve, which launched in 2017, has gained attention and investors for its automated driving system that uses a self-learning versus rules-based approach to its self-driving software. Wayve's end-to-end neural network doesn't require high-definition maps and only uses data to teach the vehicle how to drive. That data-driven learning approach is used for "eyes on" assisted driving and an "eyes off" fully automated driving system. The company plans to sell its "Embodied AI" to automakers and other tech companies. Wayve's self-learning approach, which is similar to the strategy that Tesla uses, is seen as particularly appealing to automakers because 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, uses Nvidia GPUs. This week, the startup unveiled gen 3, a platform that uses 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 said 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, shows Huang handing Kendall its 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 round about here," Kendall said in an interview Friday. "I really loved that experience, and it was cool to show him what we've always been building on as a result of Nvidia's platform over the years."

Nvidia explores $500 million investment in UK self-driving startup Wayve

Sept 19 (Reuters) - U.S. chip designer Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab has signed, opens new tab a letter of intent for a possible $500 million investment in the next funding round at Britain's Wayve, the autonomous driving technology group said on Thursday. The development comes after Britain and the United States signed a technology pact aimed at boosting ties in artificial intelligence and other fields. Founded in 2017, Wayve raised over $1 billion last year, led by SoftBank Group (9984.T), opens new tab and supported by Nvidia. Ride-hailing platform Uber (UBER.N), opens new tab had also made a separate investment in the firm in 2024, for an undisclosed sum. Wayve's technology, unlike conventional systems that rely on detailed digital maps and coding, uses machine learning with camera sensors mounted on the vehicles to learn from traffic patterns and driver behaviour. Its autonomous driving platforms have been powered by a partnership with Nvidia, whose chips are now bolstering a global AI boom. The London-based Wayve currently operates in Britain and the U.S. and has been expanding testing and development to wider markets like Germany and Japan. On Thursday, Nvidia had also pledged 2 billion pounds ($2.70 billion) in investments in the British AI startup ecosystem. ($1 = 0.7411 pounds) Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Nvidia in talks for $500mn investment in UK self-driving start-up Wayve

Nvidia is in advanced discussions to invest $500mn in UK self-driving car company Wayve, as part of the US chipmaker's planned £2bn funding pledge earmarked for British start-ups. Jensen Huang, Nvidia's chief executive, announced the prospective deal as he stood alongside British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at an event in London on Thursday following President Donald Trump's state visit. He also promised several more investments in UK-based companies, including financial technology group Revolut, telling the audience of tech entrepreneurs and investors that "the [first] trillion-dollar company in the UK will be an AI company . . . that's for sure". Starmer said: "Today we put tech out there as a special feature of the special relationship. Thank you so much Jensen for your confidence in what we are doing and your investment." During Trump's state visit, the prime minister signed a new tech agreement with the US and secured pledges of tens of billions of dollars of investment from American Big Tech groups including Microsoft and Google. London-based Wayve, which was founded in 2017, has emerged as one of the UK's most prominent artificial intelligence start-ups, after raising a $1bn round led by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank last year. The proposed Nvidia investment will form part of a new funding round, Wayve said, without providing further details of the deal. The two companies have signed a letter of intent to evaluate a $500mn strategic investment, Wayve said in a statement. At the event, Huang listed eight UK start-ups including Revolut, AI video company Synthesia and autonomous transport group Oxa, telling each one in turn: "I'm going to invest in your next round." Nvidia has already backed several of the companies listed by Huang. Wayve chief executive Alex Kendall said Nvidia's planned investment "underscores confidence" in its new approach to building self-driving cars and what he described as "embodied AI". The company signed its first partnership to deploy its technology with a major carmaker, Nissan, in April. Wayve already uses Nvidia's chips to power its autonomous vehicles. Earlier this week, Nvidia said it would invest £500mn into Nscale, a London-based cloud computing provider specialising in AI. The Silicon Valley AI chipmaker said it would deploy £2bn worth of equity financing and AI infrastructure, by working alongside venture capital firms Accel, Air Street Capital, Balderton Capital, Hoxton Ventures and Phoenix Court. Nvidia also said that more than 120,000 of its AI processors would be deployed in the UK by cloud computing groups Nscale and US-based CoreWeave, to be used by tech groups including OpenAI and Microsoft. The US hopes that the export of American AI systems will make countries such as the UK allies in its technological arms race with China. US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, who also appeared alongside Huang on Thursday night in London, urged his British counterpart, UK business and trade secretary Peter Kyle, not to regulate AI too heavily. "We need standards, not safety," Lutnick said. In an acknowledgment of the Trump administration's pressure to accelerate rather than regulate AI, the UK renamed its AI Safety Institute to the AI Security Institute in February. Lutnick said the original branding suggested that people ought to be "afraid" of the technology. "It was all regulation [and] fear," Lutnick said, as he also criticised the Biden administration's AI diffusion rules, which limited the shipment of Nvidia's chips to certain countries. "We had to get rid of that nonsense," Lutnick said, adding that losing the AI race "is not a possibility for America".

Nvidia Wants in on the Robotaxi Race

Nvidia is exploring $500 million investment in Wayve Technologies, a London-based AI startup. Nvidia is in talks to invest $500 million in the London-based self-driving car startup Wayve Technologies. Nvidia’s interest comes as the sci-fi dream of driverless cars inches closer to reality. Alphabet’s Waymo robotaxis already roam several U.S. cities, Tesla is testing its own service in Austin, and Amazon’s Zoox taxisâ€"which have no steering wheels or pedalsâ€"just started offering rides in Las Vegas this month. The tech for driverless cars is accelerating so quickly that Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi warned at the All-In Summit this month that driverless taxis could outnumber human-driven ones within 10 to 15 years. Now, Nvidia is gearing up to take a bigger stake in the self-driving car race. The news of the talks also comes just days after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, along with other major tech executives, joined President Donald Trump on his visit to the U.K. and pledged to invest over $2 billion in the nation’s AI startup scene. Huang said in a statement that the U.K. is experiencing a “Goldilocks moment.†“There has never been a better time to invest in the U.K. â€" AI is unlocking new science and sparking entirely new industries," Huang said. “With new capital and advanced infrastructure, we are doubling down to empower the U.K. to lead the next wave of AI innovation.†So why is Nvidia betting on Wayve? Founded in 2017, the London startup makes autonomous-driving software called "Embodied AI," which learns from real-world traffic using cameras and machine learning. This theoretically gets rid of the need for detailed maps that its competitors rely on. Instead of building its own driverless cars, Wayve is focused on the software, which it says is vehicle agnosticâ€"meaning it can be adapted to work on everything from passenger cars to delivery vans. The company has already landed big partners. In April, Nissan announced plans to incorporate Wayve’s tech into its driver-assistance system starting in 2027. And in June, Uber said it would begin public-road trials of fully driverless cars in London using Wayve software. Wayve raised over $1 billion last year in a funding round led by SoftBank, with Nvidia and Uber among the investors. On Thursday, Wayve announced that Nvidia had signed a letter of intent to explore its latest investment in the startup. Wayve and Nvidia have worked together since 2018, and the startup’s upcoming Gen-3 platform is set to run on Nvidia’s DRIVE AGX Thor hardware. Wayve co-founder and CEO Alex Kendall said in a statement that Nvidia's support underscores its "potential to transform the future of mobility."

Nvidia eyes $500 million investment in Wayve, a U.K. self-driving startup

The development comes after Britain and the United States signed a technology pact aimed at boosting ties in artificial intelligence and other fields. Founded in 2017, Wayve raised over $1 billion last year, led by SoftBank Group and supported by Nvidia. Ride-hailing platform Uber had also made a separate investment in the firm in 2024, for an undisclosed sum. Wayve's technology, unlike conventional systems that rely on detailed digital maps and coding, uses machine learning with camera sensors mounted on the vehicles to learn from traffic patterns and driver behaviour.

Nvidia to invest £2bn into UK's AI start-up ecosystem

Calling this the 'age of AI', Nvidia's CEO said he plans to invest in companies including Revolut and Wayve. Nvidia is investing £2bn to boost the UK's artificial intelligence start-up ecosystem. The new capital will be used to develop AI tech in the country, with the aim of creating new companies and jobs, Nvidia said in a statement yesterday (18 September). The funding comes in collaboration with venture capitals Accel, Air Street Capital, Balderton Capital, Hoxton Ventures and Phoenix Court. The investment will expand access to capital in economic centres, 'AI Growth zones' and deep technology ecosystems across the UK in areas such as London, Oxford, Cambridge and Manchester, the chipmaker said. Growth zones are of particular interest to the UK, which estimates that these dedicated areas for AI development will create more than 5,000 new jobs and bring in £30bn in private investment. CEO Jensen Huang said that he plans to invest in Revolut, autonomous driving tech maker Wayve and AI biotech companies such as Basecamp Research and the freshly-emerged Latent Labs. The £2bn figure includes the £500m investment that Nvidia announced into AI data centre start-up Nscale earlier this week, a spokesperson told Bloomberg. Meanwhile, Wayve had separately announced yesterday that it will be raising $500m from Nvidia. The company had previously raised $1bn backed by Nvidia and Microsoft. The chipmaker wants to deepen its relationship with UK's up and coming entrepreneurs, especially those situated in London's AI hub. "This is the age of AI - the big bang of a new industrial revolution. The United Kingdom is in a Goldilocks moment, where world-class universities, bold startups, leading researchers and cutting-edge supercomputing converge," said Huang. "There has never been a better time to invest in the UK - AI is unlocking new science and sparking entirely new industries." Earlier this week, companies including Nvidia, Microsoft and OpenAI announced a combined investment of more than $40bn towards UK's AI capabilities. This included $30bn from Microsoft alone in its largest investment into the UK. While OpenAI launched its Stargate venture in the country and Nvidia partnered up with CoreWeave, Nscale and Microsoft for new AI factories worth $15bn. Yesterday, Nvidia announced that it is buying $5bn in stocks from its struggling competitor Intel, as the two companies agree to jointly develop newer generations of custom data centre and personal computer products. Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news. UK prime minister Kier Starmer with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and former UK minister of state for investment Poppy Gustafsson. Image: Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Nvidia explores $500 million investment in UK self-driving startup Wayve - The Economic Times

Nvidia has expressed interest in investing $500 million in Wayve, a British autonomous driving technology company, following a technology agreement between the UK and the US. Wayve, which utilizes machine learning and camera sensors, previously secured over $1 billion in funding led by SoftBank and supported by Nvidia.US chip designer Nvidia has signed a letter of intent for a possible $500 million investment in the next funding round at Britain's Wayve, the autonomous driving technology group said on Thursday. The development comes after Britain and the United States signed a technology pact aimed at boosting ties in artificial intelligence and other fields. Founded in 2017, Wayve raised over $1 billion last year, led by SoftBank Group and supported by Nvidia. Ride-hailing platform Uber had also made a separate investment in the firm in 2024, for an undisclosed sum. Wayve's technology, unlike conventional systems that rely on detailed digital maps and coding, uses machine learning with camera sensors mounted on the vehicles to learn from traffic patterns and driver behaviour. Its autonomous driving platforms have been powered by a partnership with Nvidia, whose chips are now bolstering a global AI boom. The London-based Wayve currently operates in Britain and the US and has been expanding testing and development to wider markets like Germany and Japan. On Thursday, Nvidia had also pledged 2 billion pounds ($2.70 billion) in investments in the British AI startup ecosystem. ($1 = 0.7411 pounds) (Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)

Nvidia Commits $500 Million To UK Autonomous Driving Startup Wayve - NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA)

Nvidia NVDA is in advanced talks to make a $500 million investment in the U.K. autonomous driving startup Wayve, signaling a strategic expansion of its influence in the thriving artificial intelligence sector. This potential deal, first reported by the Financial Times on Friday, is a key component of the U.S. chipmaker's broader 2 billion pounds pledge to support British startups. The announcement was made by CEO Jensen Huang in London, where he appeared alongside Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer following President Donald Trump's state visit. Also Read: Nvidia's Bold Move Catapults Intel To The Heart Of AI Innovation Speaking to an audience of tech entrepreneurs, Huang underscored Nvidia's commitment to the U.K. tech ecosystem, revealing plans to back several other firms, including fintech group Revolut. In a bold declaration, he stated, "the first trillion-dollar company in the U.K. will be an AI company." Founded in 2017, London-based Wayve has rapidly emerged as a leader in autonomous driving, notably securing a $1 billion investment from SoftBank SFTBY in 2024 and partnering with Nissan NSANY in April. The startup already leverages Nvidia's processors for its technology. This move follows Nvidia's earlier pledge of a 500 million pounds investment in Nscale, a London-based AI cloud provider. These commitments are part of a larger 2 billion pounds equity and infrastructure initiative, which will see more than 120,000 Nvidia processors deployed in the U.K. by Nscale and U.S. firm CoreWeave CRWV to support clients like OpenAI and Microsoft MSFT. While Nvidia solidifies its position in the U.K., it is navigating significant challenges in China. The company's stock, which had gained over 31% year-to-date, outperforming the Nasdaq 100's over 16% returns, briefly dipped on reports that China's internet regulator banned its AI chips. Huang expressed disappointment, emphasizing Nvidia's long-standing role in China's tech ecosystem. The Financial Times detailed that Beijing has ordered major tech companies like ByteDance and Alibaba BABA to cease purchasing Nvidia's RTX Pro 6000D, a model specifically tailored for the Chinese market. This decision exacerbates Nvidia's issues in a market that accounts for 20-25% of its revenue, already hampered by repeated U.S. export restrictions on its H100, A100, and H20 chips. Earlier, in August, Huang had brokered a deal with President Trump to secure export licenses by funneling 15% of Chinese H20 sales to Washington, yet Nvidia has still advised analysts to exclude China from their financial forecasts. Adding to the regulatory pressure, China's market regulator this week launched an antitrust probe into Nvidia's $6.9 billion Mellanox acquisition. Price Action: At last check Friday, NVDA stock was trading lower by 0.20% to $175.89 premarket. Read Next: Uber Bets On Drones With Flytrex Deal To Speed Up Deliveries And Cut Costs Image by jamesonwu1972 via Shutterstock NVDANVIDIA Corp$175.88-0.20%OverviewBABAAlibaba Group Holding Ltd$163.900.87%CRWVCoreWeave Inc$122.020.52%GOOGLAlphabet Inc$252.460.17%MSFTMicrosoft Corp$509.300.17%NSANYNissan Motor Co Ltd$4.80-2.83%SFTBYSoftBank Group Corp$62.10-%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Nvidia Considers $500 Million Investment in Autonomous Driving AI Firm Wayve | PYMNTS.com

By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. Wayve said in a Thursday (Sept. 18) press release that it has signed a letter of intent with Nvidia to evaluate the investment ahead of Wayve's next funding round. The companies have collaborated since 2018, with Wayve's robot platforms using Nvidia technology, and Nvidia participated in Wayve's $1.05 billion Series C funding round in May 2024. Together, they aim to provide automakers with production-ready autonomous driving technology that combines Wavye's foundation model and Nvidia's automotive-grade accelerated computing platforms, according to the release. The next Wayve platform, Wayve Gen 3, will be built on Nvidia Drive AGX Thor, per the release. "Continued support from a global technology leader like Nvidia underscores confidence in our AV2.0 approach to building embodied AI and its potential to transform the future of mobility," Wayve Co-founder and CEO Alex Kendall said in the release. AV2.0 is Wayve's term for self-driving technology that learns to drive in any environment by experience, rather than explicit programming, according to the company's website. In a Tuesday (Sept. 16) press release outlining its collaborations with U.K. robotics leaders, Nvidia said Wayve is "pioneering end-to-end deep learning for autonomous driving." "Its next-generation AV2.0 Platform enables vehicles to quickly and safely adapt its driving intelligence to new, unseen environments without needing expensive sensors and high-definition maps," Nvidia said. Wayve's May 2024 Series C funding round was led by SoftBank Group, with contributions from Nvidia and Microsoft. Rishi Dhall, vice president of automotive business at Nvidia, said at the time in a press release: "Wayve is pioneering new AI applications for their next-generation AV2.0 approach, built on Nvidia Drive Orin and Drive Thor, which uses the new Nvidia Blackwell architecture designed for transformer, LLM and generative AI workloads. Together, we can help enable self-driving vehicles that deliver the intelligence, dependability and skill of the best human drivers." It was reported in May that Nvidia unveiled more than 70 research papers showing how AI can perform in real-world settings beyond text and images. With these papers, the company aims to advance embodied intelligence, or AI that can perceive, reason and act in industries including manufacturing, biotechnology and transportation.

Nvidia, Wayve in Talks Over $500 Million Investment in Self-Driving Car Startup

Nvidia is holding discussions with Wayve Technologies over a potential $500 million investment in the self-driving car startup, a move that could further expand their collaboration in autonomous vehicles. The companies signed a letter of intent to evaluate the funding which, if it materializes, would come as part of Wayve's next funding round, further cementing a partnership that dates back to 2018. London-based Wayve has bet on Nvidia technology to power its artificial-intelligence models. Its AI training and fleet-learning infrastructure is built on Microsoft Azure, which relies on Nvidia hardware. The startup develops software known as Embodied AI that allows cars to interact with, comprehend and learn from human behavior in real-world environments, effectively equipping vehicles with a robot brain that can adapt to unexpected situations. The company said its upcoming platform would be built on Nvidia's Drive AGX Thor, a kit for the design, testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles that is used by the likes of China's BYD, Xiaomi and Sweden's Volvo Car, according to Nvidia. Nvidia has already invested in Wayve, which last year raised $1.05 billion from investors such as Japan's SoftBank Group, Microsoft and Nvidia itself. Alex Kendall, Wayve's co-founder and chief executive, said continued support from a giant like Nvidia underscores confidence in its tech. In June, Uber Technologies and Wayve agreed to launch public-road trials of fully autonomous vehicles in London once all permits and approvals from local authorities are in place. The companies said at the time they had picked the U.K. capital because of its significantly different road layouts and traffic laws compared with U.S. locations, where most testing had been conducted. A more complex driving environment would allow the companies to better develop the technology needed to deploy self-driving cars at scale.

Nvidia explores $500 million investment in UK self-driving startup Wayve

(Reuters) - U.S. chip designer Nvidia has signed a letter of intent for a possible $500 million investment in the next funding round at Britain's Wayve, the autonomous driving technology group said on Thursday. The development comes after Britain and the United States signed a technology pact aimed at boosting ties in artificial intelligence and other fields. Founded in 2017, Wayve raised over $1 billion last year, led by SoftBank Group and supported by Nvidia. Ride-hailing platform Uber had also made a separate investment in the firm in 2024, for an undisclosed sum. Wayve's technology, unlike conventional systems that rely on detailed digital maps and coding, uses machine learning with camera sensors mounted on the vehicles to learn from traffic patterns and driver behaviour. Its autonomous driving platforms have been powered by a partnership with Nvidia, whose chips are now bolstering a global AI boom. The London-based Wayve currently operates in Britain and the U.S. and has been expanding testing and development to wider markets like Germany and Japan. On Thursday, Nvidia had also pledged 2 billion pounds ($2.70 billion) in investments in the British AI startup ecosystem. ($1 = 0.7411 pounds) (Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)

Nvidia to Invest $2.7 Billion in U.K. AI Startup Development

Nvidia pledged 2 billion pounds ($2.71 billion) to boost U.K. artificial-intelligence startups and speed up the creation of new jobs and businesses. The U.S. AI chip giant, the world's most valuable company, said Thursday that venture-capital investors Accel, Air Street Capital, Balderton, Hoxton Ventures and Phoenix Court will join it in the effort to jumpstart the AI startup ecosystem in the U.K.. Nvidia's U.K. investment plans add to a flurry of spending commitments by U.S. tech giants coinciding with President Trump's state visit this week. Major American tech companies said they would spend more than $40 billion to expand AI infrastructure in the country, with Microsoft and Alphabet-unit Google leading the charge. Earlier this week, Nvidia, OpenAI and British company Nscale said they would join forces to set up AI infrastructure to satisfy OpenAI's power needs in the U.K. AI startups in the U.K. have faced challenges with supercomputing access, lackluster venture capital outside of London, and spiraling energy costs. Nvidia's investment is set to deliver new capital and AI infrastructure to U.K. hubs like London, Oxford, Cambridge and Manchester. Nvidia said it is committed to working with startup founders and venture-capital firms in those hubs, but also in regions where AI infrastructure is less developed. These include so-called AI growth zones recently selected by the U.K. government. Members of the groups involved in the investment said the goal was to help bridge the gap between world-class research and success in the marketplace, and to make the U.K. a global leader in AI innovation.