Waabi, a leader in generative AI for the physical world, has announced a $200 million Series B funding round led by Uber and Khosla Ventures. The round, which brings Waabi’s total investment to over $280 million, includes strategic investors such as NVIDIA, Volvo Group Venture Capital, Porsche Automobil Holding, Scania Invest, and Ingka Investments.
Founded just three years ago, Waabi is nearing Level 4 autonomy with its AI-powered autonomous trucks, set for deployment in 2025. The company's approach integrates a single end-to-end AI system capable of human-like reasoning, requiring less training data and compute resources. This system is fully interpretable, ensuring its safety can be validated and verified, a first in autonomous vehicle AI.
Waabi’s system, paired with Waabi World, an advanced simulator, minimizes the need for extensive on-road testing, offering a safer and more efficient solution from day one. “I have spent most of my professional life dedicated to inventing new AI technologies that can deliver on the enormous potential of AI in the physical world in a provably safe and scalable way,” said Raquel Urtasun, Founder and CEO of Waabi. “We have everything we need — breakthrough technology, an incredible team, and pioneering partners and investors — to launch fully driverless autonomous trucks in 2025. This is monumental for the industry and truly marks the beginning of the next frontier for AI.”
The investment will accelerate Waabi’s commercial operations, expand its team in Canada and the U.S., and support the launch of driverless trucks in Texas and beyond. This funding follows Waabi’s recent milestones, including opening a Texas AV trucking terminal, integrating NVIDIA DRIVE Thor into Waabi Driver, and partnering with Uber Freight for autonomous shipments.
Waabi's Heavyweight Endorsement
Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, commented, “We are big believers in the potential for autonomous technology to revolutionize transportation, making a safer and more sustainable future possible. Raquel is a visionary in the field and, under her leadership, Waabi’s AI-first approach provides a solution that is extremely exciting in both its scalability and capital efficiency.”
Vinod Khosla, Founder of Khosla Ventures, added, “Raquel and her team at Waabi have challenged the status quo with their innovative products and business execution. We backed Waabi early on, betting that generative AI would transform transportation, and we are thrilled to continue this journey with them.”
Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO of NVIDIA, said, “Waabi is developing autonomous trucking by applying cutting-edge generative AI to the physical world. I’m excited to support Raquel’s vision through our investment in Waabi, which is powered by NVIDIA technology.”
The new capital will also aid in growing Waabi’s commercial operations and expanding its team, ensuring the company is well-positioned to lead the autonomous vehicle industry into its next phase.
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