By Kai Nicol-Schwarz
Publication Date: 2026-02-25 00:01:00
Autonomous driving company Wayve has hit an $8.6 billion valuation after securing fresh funds from Nvidia, Microsoft and Uber.
The $1.2 billion Series D round was led by Eclipse, Balderton and SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and also featured automakers Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Stellantis.
Uber will invest up to an additional $300 million in milestone-based capital.
“We are building for a total addressable market that spans every vehicle that moves,” Alex Kendall, Wayve CEO, said in a statement.
“This investment accelerates our path to widespread commercial deployment and positions us to build the autonomy layer that will power any vehicle everywhere,” he added.
Founded in 2017, U.K.-based Wayve is building autonomous driving software and AI models and has become one of Europe’s most valuable startups. The company had raised upwards of $1 billion prior to this round.
In 2025, Wayve signed a partnership with Nissan to integrate its AI into the company’s driver-assistance systems, with vehicles featuring the tech to be deployed from 2027.
The startup also has plans with Uber to launch public robotaxi trials beginning in London in 2026, before a wider rollout to more than 10 markets globally, Wayve said.
While autonomous driving has been promised by tech companies for years, the sector has faced technical and regulatory hurdles. Level 5 automation, where cars self-drive anywhere without the need for humans in the loop, has remained elusive.
But Recent advances in AI have led to renewed…