Wayve lands AMD, Arm and Qualcomm cash as UK self-driving push gathers pace
British autonomous driving firm Wayve has secured a further $60m (£44.2m) from chip giants AMD, Arm and Qualcomm Ventures, as it pushes to get its AI driving software into production vehicles.
The fresh backing adds more heavyweight silicon names to Wayve’s investor roster and comes just weeks after the London-based company raised $1.2bn at a valuation of $8.6bn.
Wayve said the new capital will help it integrate its software across a wider range of automotive compute platforms, as carmakers and fleet operators look for systems that can be deployed across multiple vehicle types rather than built around one bespoke hardware stack.
The company is developing what it calls an embodied AI ‘driver’ that can handle point-to-point driving across different environments without relying on high-definition maps.
It is targeting everything from advanced driver-assistance systems to higher levels of automated driving and robotaxi applications.
Chief executive Alex Kendall said the latest investment would help Wayve offer automakers more “design choice and supply chain flexibility”, as the sector moves towards wider deployment of AI-led driving systems.
UK autonomy race draws in chip backing
The deal is a further boost for one of the UK’s most valuable AI startups and proves how the country’s autonomous driving sector is drawing interest from both global technology companies and the British state.
Wayve has become a focal point for policymakers trying to prove the UK can produce and retain globally competitive deep-tech companies.
Last month, the British Business Bank took part in the company’s $1.2bn funding round, which also included SoftBank, Microsoft, Nvidia, Uber, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis.
Separately, the newly created British Growth Partnership Fund I, backed by pension capital from Aegon UK, Cushon and M&G, has earmarked its first investment for Wayve, in a sign that domestic institutional money is beginning to flow into later-stage UK tech.
The company has also been building out commercial partnerships. In March, it announced a tie-up with Qualcomm to combine its AI driving software with the Snapdragon Ride platform, in an attempt to make it easier for carmakers to deploy hands off features.