Waabi will apply its Bodily AI Platform developed for vehicles to robotaxis in an expanded partnership with Uber. Supply: Waabi
Extra AI-enabled autos are coming to the roads, as Waabi at present stated it has closed an oversubscribed $750 million Sequence C spherical to speed up its commercialization of autonomous vehicles. The corporate has additionally secured extra funding from Uber Applied sciences Inc. and stated the strategic partnership will help its enlargement into robotaxis.
“Waabi’s Bodily AI Platform has enabled us to hit an industry-leading tempo within the growth and commercialization of autonomous vehicles over the previous few years,” said Raquel Urtasun, founder and CEO of Waabi.
“Our present self-driving capabilities throughout highways and generalized floor streets have unlocked a brand new direct-to-customer mannequin that for the primary time solves the ache factors of the {industry} and gives an unprecedented alternative to rapidly and seamlessly enter the robotaxi market, delivering a very scalable resolution for each verticals,” she added.
Based in 2021, Waabi stated its Bodily AI Platform generalizes to totally different kind elements, geographies, and environments. The platform “combines a verifiable end-to-end AI mannequin able to reasoning alongside the world’s most superior neural simulator,” claimed the Toronto-based firm.
Waabi and Uber to convey AI mind to each vehicles and taxis
Waabi stated its strategy permits the identical AI mannequin to behave as a “shared mind” for each autonomous trucks and robotaxis. The company asserted that its enlargement into self-driving passenger autos will finally enhance the Waabi Driver’s total capabilities.
Below the partnership, Uber will make investments extra milestone-based capital to help the event of robotaxis utilizing the Waabi Driver. The businesses stated they plan to deploy 25,000 or extra autonomous autos (AVs).
“We’re thrilled to associate with the best-in-class ridesharing platform to convey a couple of safer, extra environment friendly, and sustainable future,” stated Urtasun.
Waabi beforehand partnered with Uber Freight in 2023, and Uber participated in its $200 million Sequence B spherical in 2024.
“Waabi’s expanded deal with robotaxis marks an vital milestone for his or her staff and the AV {industry} extra broadly,” stated Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber. “We’re very excited to deepen our partnership with Waabi as they considerably scale their Bodily AI Platform and enter a brand new part of an already outstanding journey.”
Whereas it offered its Superior Applied sciences Group (ATG) to Aurora Innovation in 2020, Uber has additionally invested in different AV builders, together with Nuro, Lucid, and Wayve, and it has partnered with robotaxi suppliers Motional, Waymo, and WeRide.
Automotive leaders, Canadian buyers be part of Waabi spherical
Khosla Ventures and G2 Enterprise companions co-led Waabi’s Sequence C spherical, which the corporate stated is the biggest fundraise in Canadian historical past.
“We spend money on the businesses which can be main the AI period,” stated Vinod Khosla, founding father of Khosla Ventures. “Waabi has developed a very groundbreaking bodily AI platform that represents a basic leap ahead in how next-generation driverless expertise is being developed.”
Different strategic buyers included NVentures (NVIDIA’s enterprise capital arm), Volvo Group Enterprise Capital, and Porsche Automobil Holding SE.
“Waabi is essentially altering the trajectory of autonomous transportation,” stated Brook Porter, co-founder and associate at G2 Enterprise Companions. “Their simulation-first, end-to-end AI is a robust enabler, accelerating industrial adoption whereas dramatically decreasing capital must scale. Waabi is unlocking the potential for autonomy to drive automobile effectivity and utilization, catalyzing the shift to a extra sustainable transportation system.”
As well as, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Radical Ventures, HarbourVest Companions, an entirely owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Funding Authority (ADIA), Linse Capital, Incharge Capital, and others participated within the funding. Waabi famous that Canadian corporations resembling BDC Capital’s Thrive Enterprise Fund, Export Growth Canada (EDC), TELUS World Ventures, and BMO World Asset Administration had been amongst its backers.
Waabi’s Sequence C spherical joins different giant robotaxi investments, together with Waymo’s $5.6 billion Sequence C in 2024, Cruise’s $2.75 billion spherical in 2021, and Aurora’s $820 million inventory sale in 2024. In autonomous trucking, Einride raised $100 million in October 2025, whereas Plus Automation and Kodiak Robotics went public through special-purpose acquisition firms (SPACs) final 12 months.
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