Wayve (WAYV) Eyes $9B Valuation with £6.6B Funding Amid UK Robotaxi Trials

Wayve, a Cambridge-based self-driving car pioneer, is on track to achieve a $9 billion valuation with a projected £6.6 billion funding round as it prepares to launch autonomous taxi trials in the UK. The company is finalizing over $1 billion in Series C financing, part of a broader push to expand its robotaxi operations and technology globally, with trials already active in San Francisco, Germany, and Japan. Wayve has a deal with Uber to pilot its technology in ride-hailing vehicles later this year. NVIDIA is reportedly considering a $500 million investment in the round, and Microsoft and SoftBank are among potential backers. Wayve’s proprietary AI learns to navigate without prior mapping, distinguishing its approach from competitors. <Para 2> Rivals are accelerating: Waymo (GOOGL) raised $16 billion last week to expand robotaxi services, and Uber and Lyft are collaborating with Apollo Go (owned by Baidu) on UK trials. Tesla is also testing its self-driving technology on British roads.