London-based autonomous driving startup Wayve has raised Europe’s largest venture capital round on record for an AI company.
The $1.05 billion Series C, which was led by SoftBank and included chipmaker Nvidia and Microsoft, is more than twice the size of the German generative AI startup Aleph Alpha’s $500 million Series B in November and significantly larger than the £500 million (around $626 million) Series A+ raised by Conigital, another self-driving technology startup, in September.
The investment offers a boost to Europe’s AI sector, which has seen a slower start to the year despite the recent hype surrounding generative AI. Some €3.6 billion (about $3.9 billion) has been invested in the AI and machine learning space in 2024, according to PitchBook data, with Q1 recording the lowest quarterly deal value figure since Q4 2020.
Founded in 2017, Wayve’s self-driving technology allows cars to learn through experience and observation rather than detailed or pre-programmed maps.
The startup’s latest round is also among the largest VC deals for the autonomous car sector globally, which has seen a drop in funding amid a broader VC downturn since 2022. Funding for startups in the space fell about 65% between 2021 and 2023, while companies including Apple and General Motors have abandoned their driverless car projects in recent months.
Advancements made in generative AI may renew appetite for the autonomous car sector as it promises to make self-driving vehicles safer and more adaptable. Earlier this year, German corporation Bosch announced a partnership with Microsoft to explore the use of generative AI to improve automated driving functions.
Image courtesy of Wayve
Learn about our editorial standards.
