Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang visited the United Kingdom this week with a commitment to invest £2 billion ($2.6 billion) to boost the nation’s AI startup ecosystem. According to the company, U.K.-based self-driving technology startup Wayve could be among the beneficiaries of this AI investment initiative.
Wayve announced that it has signed a letter of intent with Nvidia to explore a $500 million strategic investment in the U.K. startup’s upcoming funding round. Nvidia had previously taken part in Wayve’s $1.05 billion Series C round, completed in May 2024.
A Wayve spokesperson confirmed that the proposed $500 million investment falls under Nvidia’s broader AI startup funding initiative.
At an event on Thursday, Nvidia said the £2 billion commitment would also draw contributions from venture capital firms including Accel, Air Street Capital, Balderton, Hoxton Ventures, and Phoenix Court.
Wayve co-founder and CEO Alex Kendall didn’t provide a projected closing date for its Series D round but said the company was “working quickly towards it.”
Founded in 2017, Wayve has attracted attention and investors for its automated driving system, which relies on a self-learning, data-driven approach rather than traditional rules-based programming. Its end-to-end neural network eliminates the need for high-definition maps, instead using real-world data to teach vehicles how to drive. This learning method powers both “eyes on” assisted driving and “eyes off” fully autonomous driving systems.
The company intends to offer its “Embodied AI” technology to automakers and other technology firms.
Wayve’s self-learning approach, similar to Tesla’s strategy, is especially attractive to automakers because it doesn’t depend on specific sensors or maps. This allows the system to operate using standard sensors such as cameras and radar, with the software leveraging the data from these inputs to make real-time driving decisions.
While Wayve’s software can run on the chips already installed in its OEM partners’ vehicles, the startup has maintained a close development partnership with Nvidia since 2018.
Wayve’s second-generation self-driving platform, integrated into its Ford Mach-E test vehicles, utilizes Nvidia GPUs. This week, the company introduced its third-generation platform, which employs the in-vehicle compute autonomous vehicle development kit, Nvidia Drive AGX Thor. Gen 3 enables Wayve to deliver eyes-off advanced driving-assistance systems and Level 4 autonomous features suitable for both city streets and highways.
Nvidia—and especially CEO Jensen Huang—appears eager to play a key role in 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.
“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 roundabout 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.”
