The British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, applauded Wayve's latest funding round, emphasizing the UK's leadership in technological advancements. Sunak highlighted the significant contributions of pioneers like Wayve in developing the next generation of AI models for self-driving cars. According to the British government, the self-driving vehicle sector has generated £475 million (US$596 million) in direct investment between 2018 and 2022, creating 1,500 new jobs in the process.

British startup Wayve announced on Tuesday that it had secured $1.05 billion in an investment round led by Japan’s SoftBank, aimed at accelerating the growth of its self-driving car technology. The Series C funding round saw participation from new investor U.S. chipmaker Nvidia, as well as existing investor software giant Microsoft, a significant supporter of artificial intelligence firms. This substantial financing serves as a major vote of confidence for the Cambridge-based firm and adds to the substantial investment already poured into the AI space.

Wayve, founded in 2017, is among the numerous startups working to enable autonomous driving, a technology that allows cars to operate effectively without human intervention. Unlike Tesla, which manufactures its own vehicles, Wayve focuses on licensing its self-driving technology to other companies, including retailers and automakers. The company utilizes cameras and sensors to map its environmental surroundings, ensuring that cars can navigate densely populated urban areas safely with minimal human supervision.