Nvidia eyes $500 million investment in UK self-driving startup Wayve
Nvidia has signed a letter of intent to invest $500 million in Wayve, a London-based autonomous driving technology company, during its next funding round, Wayve confirmed Thursday. The move underscores Nvidia’s growing push into self-driving and follows a broader U.S.-UK technology pact to deepen cooperation in artificial intelligence.
Founded in 2017, Wayve has developed a machine-learning approach to autonomous driving that differs from conventional systems. Instead of relying heavily on pre-mapped roads, its AI learns directly from traffic patterns and human driver behavior using vehicles equipped with camera sensors.
Wayve raised over $1 billion in 2023, led by SoftBank with backing from Nvidia, while Uber invested separately in 2024. Its autonomous driving platforms already use Nvidia chips, linking its growth to the broader global AI hardware surge.
The company operates in both the UK and U.S., while expanding testing into markets such as Germany and Japan. Nvidia’s latest move comes alongside a pledge to invest £2 billion ($2.7 billion) in Britain’s AI startup ecosystem, a signal of its commitment to both mobility technology and the UK’s broader AI ambitions.