Alex Kendall, 29, is the co-founder and CEO of self-driving startup Wayve.
Source: Waifi
British startup Wayve said Tuesday it has raised $1.05 billion in an investment round led by Japan Softbank To accelerate the growth of self-driving car technology.
The Series C funding round included a new investor from the US chipmaker Nvidia And the current investor, the software giant MicrosoftIt is a major supporter of artificial intelligence companies.
The funding represents a major vote of confidence for the Cambridge-based company. It also builds on the piles of cash currently being deployed in the AI space.
“Our vision at Wayve is to develop self-driving technology that not only becomes a reality in millions of vehicles, but also gains people's trust by seamlessly integrating into their daily lives to unleash extraordinary value,” said Alex Kendall, co-founder and CEO of Wayve. He said in a statement.
“This significant funding milestone highlights our team’s firm conviction that Embodied AI will address the long-standing challenges the industry has faced in scaling this technology to everyone, everywhere.”
Founded in 2017, Wayve is one of many startups looking to enable autonomous driving — technology that enables cars to drive efficiently without humans at the helm.
Unlike TeslaWayve, which makes its own cars, licenses its self-driving technology to other companies, including retailers and automakers.
