Wayve in Talks with Microsoft and SoftBank for $2 Billion Funding, Valuation Could Reach $8 Billion

UK's Wayve in talks with SoftBank and Microsoft over $2bn fundraise

UK start-up Wayve is in talks with Microsoft and SoftBank to raise up to $2bn of new funding, as global investors snap up deals to invest in fast-growing artificial intelligence groups. The deal could value Wayve at roughly $8bn, according to two people with knowledge of ongoing discussions, cautioning that no valuation had been set yet and that talks were still at early stages. Founded in 2017, London-based Wayve has emerged as one of the UK's most prominent artificial intelligence start-ups, focused on building the technology behind self-driving cars. It raised $1bn last year in a round led by Japan's SoftBank, with its previous backer Microsoft also participating in the deal. Those existing investors are in talks with Wayve about new investment in which the group could raise between $1bn and $2bn, according to people familiar with the discussions. That transaction would come as the world's biggest tech investors rush to back fast-growing AI companies. Frenzied dealmaking has led to a series of huge funding rounds this year, particularly in the US, with AI model makers such as OpenAI and Anthropic among those to raise billions of dollars this year. Wayve's investment discussions come a few weeks after Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang announced plans to invest $500mn in the company, without providing further details. Wayve has been building its navigation systems using Nvidia's specialised robotics systems since it constructed its first car in 2018. The start-up believes that its AI systems can work using lower-cost sensors and computing equipment deployed in regular production cars, rather than requiring the specialised hardware used by rival autonomous vehicle companies such as Alphabet's Waymo and Amazon's Zoox. Waymo and Zoox have to map any new city in detail before their cars can start driving there. Wayve says its system is "generalisable", meaning it can adapt to drive autonomously even in cities or other environments that the vehicle or company has not previously visited. "I've spent a decade building this company and working on this technology, and for most of that decade, this [approach] has been very contrarian," Wayve co-founder and chief executive Alex Kendall said in an interview last month. But he has seen "a complete U-turn" in investor appetite in the last year. "The interest is nothing I've experienced before." That developed into it deciding to take on new investment, even though the company was "very well capitalised today already", Kendall said. "The investment required to build these foundation models comes ahead of deployment," he said. "The automotive industry requires patience. I think we are working as hard as we can with our partners to integrate and deploy this technology." Wayve signed its first partnership to deploy its technology with a major carmaker, Nissan, in April. The agreement means Wayve will install its software in vehicles made by Japan's Nissan from 2027. Wayve, SoftBank and Microsoft declined to comment.

FT: Wavye plans $2bn raise with Microsoft, SoftBank backing

The funding round could value the autonomous driving start-up at more than $8bn. UK's autonomous driving start-up Wayve is discussing raising up to $2bn in a new funding round with SoftBank and Microsoft, reports the Financial Times. The start-up has gained significant momentum in recent years thanks to the unprecedented scale of the AI boom. Last year, it raised more than $1bn in a Series C round backed by Nvidia and Microsoft - a round touted as the biggest investment ever made in a UK-based AI company by former prime minister Rishi Sunak. Ride sharing platform Uber made a follow-up investment into Wayve following the Series C round. The latest deal could see a comeback from existing investors into Wayve, which plans to raise between $1bn to $2bn, sources tell the financial publication. The raise is set to value the start-up at more than $8bn. The start-up has raised around $1.3bn in the three funding rounds it has run since being found in 2017. Estimates suggest that it is currently valued at more than $5.8bn (£4.43bn). Existing investor Nvidia already agreed to back Wayve with $500m earlier this September. The funding came as part of the AI giant's massive £2bn investment to boost the UK's AI ecosystem. CEO Jensen Huang also announced plans to invest in Revolut and AI biotech companies such as Basecamp Research and Latent Labs, which emerged from stealth earlier this year. "There has never been a better time to invest in the UK - AI is unlocking new science and sparking entirely new industries," Huang said at the time. Meanwhile Uber joined forces with Wayve to launch a public road trial for fully autonomous vehicles in London. The trials are expected to begin in spring 2026. The pilot will combine Wayve's AI platform with Uber's network of vehicles, making the UK Uber's largest market to launch a self-driving pilot programme. Wayve's claims that its AI-led autonomous vehicle approach, known as AV2.0, "learns from experience like a human driver", enabling it to adapt to new roads and layouts. The programme is yet to get approval from the UK government and Transport for London. However, experts say that UK's regulations around liability for autonomous vehicles need to be tightened, while autonomous driving start-ups need their own regulatory framework. 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.

Microsoft & SoftBank Plan $2 Billion Investment in Wayve, Valuing UK Startup at $8 Billion

UK's Wayve in Advanced Talks for $2 Billion Investment with Microsoft and SoftBank: Could This Reshape the Future of Autonomous Driving? Wayve, a UK company focused on autonomous driving technology, is reportedly in talks with Microsoft (MSFT) and SoftBank on a new round of fundraising worth $2 billion, according to Financial Times. If successful, the round would value the London-based startup at nearly $8 billion. These talks follow NVIDIA's signing of a letter of intent in September for a possible $500 million investment in Wayve. The move highlights global tech giants' thirst for investing in AI-related modes of transportation. It also shows a growing level of interest in autonomous driving technology startups focused on utilizing artificial intelligence for innovation in the field.

SoftBank, Microsoft reportedly in talks to pump $2B in this UK AI startup By Invezz

Invezz.com - The London-based artificial intelligence company Wayve is in talks to raise as much as $2 billion from Microsoft and SoftBank, as per a Financial Times report. The discussions could see the company's valuation rise to about $8 billion, the report said, citing sources, though a final figure has not yet been set. Founded in 2017, Wayve has become one of the UK's most-watched AI start-ups, specialising in building foundation models for self-driving cars. Its new fundraising discussions come amid an international rush to invest in fast-growing AI developers that are shaping automation across transport, manufacturing, and robotics. Global investors race to back new AI systemsThe talks between Wayve, SoftBank, and Microsoft follow a surge of global dealmaking in the AI sector this year, with investors funnelling billions into model makers and robotics ventures. Similar large-scale funding rounds have recently been announced by OpenAI and Anthropic, underscoring the growing competition among investors to secure early stakes in the most promising AI developers. Wayve's discussions mark one of the largest potential UK-based fundraises in the autonomous driving segment, reflecting how the nation's AI ecosystem is increasingly drawing attention from major US and Asian investors. SoftBank, which led Wayve's previous $1 billion round in 2023, is expected to participate again, while Microsoft -- already a backer of the firm -- is in active talks about further investment. Nvidia joins the AI mobility waveWayve's rise has also caught the attention of Nvidia, which last month announced a $500 million investment in the company. Nvidia's specialised robotics systems have powered Wayve's navigation technology since the start-up built its first car in 2018. The company's AI-driven software is designed to operate on standard automotive hardware, relying on lower-cost sensors and computing components instead of the highly specialised systems required by rivals such as Alphabet's Waymo or Amazon's Zoox. This approach could make mass deployment of autonomous driving technology more commercially viable. While competitors like Waymo and Zoox need to pre-map every city before their vehicles can operate safely, Wayve's system claims to be "generalisable" -- capable of learning from data and adapting to new environments it has never previously encountered. Partnerships and plans for deploymentIn April, Wayve signed its first deployment agreement with Japan's Under the partnership, Wayve's self-driving software will be integrated into Nissan vehicles from 2027, positioning the automaker to become one of the early adopters of next-generation AI-driven mobility systems. The company is expected to deploy the proceeds from its next funding round to build and train large-scale AI models ahead of commercial rollout -- a capital-intensive phase crucial for advancing the technology and ensuring scalability.