UK Self-Driving Star Wayve Hits $8.6B Valuation, Eyes UK Robotaxi Pilot

UK self-driving startup Wayve has secured $1.2 billion in fresh funding at an $8.6 billion valuation, making it one of the most valuable UK tech startups.

The round included several major automakers, including Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Nissan. Wayve already announced a commercial partnership with Nissan last year, while the two other automakers are exploring ways to integrate its self-driving system into their vehicles.

Wayve plans to be among the first companies involved in the UK’s initial robotaxi trial later this year, which will begin in London. It will be competing with some heavyweight names, including Waymo, which is reportedly close to completing a $16 billion funding round at a $110 billion valuation. US ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft are also expected to participate in the trial, operating through Baidu’s Apollo Go programme.

“We’ve got the partnerships, the strategic support but also the capital we need to license software that’s going to be in vehicles that will be owned and operated for a decade plus,” said Wayve co-founder Alex Kendall. “This continues to give us escape velocity to build this as an independent company.”

Unlike Waymo, which appears focused almost entirely on robotaxi services, Wayve has said it is open to supplying its technology to both robotaxi fleets and privately owned vehicles. That flexibility will likely appeal to automakers that may not want to transition fully into robotaxi service operators.

Self-driving descends on London

While the United States and China are a few years ahead in robotaxi deployment, London looks set to become the next testing ground for self-driving operators and their ride-hailing systems.

The UK government has signalled that trials will begin by the end of 2026, although they are expected to be limited to a small test area in London rather than the entire city. If those early trials prove successful, a broader rollout could follow, potentially expanding to other UK cities.

Even though the biggest name in the self-driving market, Waymo, is expected to take part in the pilot, several major players are absent. Tesla’s robotaxi operations have expanded in the US over the past year, but it has shown no intention of joining the UK trial. Nor have Amazon’s Zoox or China’s WeRide indicated plans to participate.

UK as the European hub for self-driving

The UK has a relatively long track record in self-driving trials. Testing first began in 2014 with a £100 million government-backed programme supporting autonomous vehicle pilots in Milton Keynes (famous for its roundabouts), Coventry, Bristol, and Greenwich.

By 2018, companies were permitted to conduct on-road testing without a special licence, provided they followed a code of practice published by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles. At the time, the UK was one of the few countries to allow this level of access.

Several companies have pursued self-driving ambitions in that period, including Oxford University spin-out Oxbotica and FiveAI. Both shifted towards business-to-business applications during the self-driving slowdown between 2018 and 2022.

Opening the country to more self-driving operators could help position the UK as a genuine European hub for autonomous testing and robotaxis. The European Union has moved more slowly on new self-driving policies, with only a scattering of trials emerging in cities such as Munich, Berlin, and Amsterdam.

Also read: Tesla’s Austin robotaxi crashes are raising early safety and transparency questions as the company expands testing.