Waabi Secures $1 Billion, Partners with Uber to Launch Robotaxis
Waabi, an autonomous vehicle startup, recently secured $1 billion in funding and established a strategic partnership with Uber. This collaboration aims to introduce robotaxis powered by Waabi’s technology onto the Uber ride-hailing platform, marking the company’s inaugural expansion beyond autonomous trucking.
Funding Details and Partnership Highlights
The substantial funding includes a $750 million oversubscribed Series C round co-led by Khosla Ventures and G2 Venture Partners. Additionally, approximately $250 million comes from milestone-based capital provided by Uber, which targets the deployment of over 25,000 Waabi Driver-powered robotaxis exclusively for Uber’s platform.
Significance of the Partnership
This partnership is a testament to Waabi’s unique AI technology. Founder and CEO Raquel Urtasun emphasizes the company’s capability to operate across multiple self-driving verticals with a singular technology stack. Unlike competitors like Waymo, which previously abandoned its freight program, Waabi aims to leverage its cost-effective approach and AI architecture to thrive in both trucking and passenger transport sectors simultaneously.
Founder’s Background and Company Strategy
Urtasun’s history with Uber adds depth to this collaboration, as she was once the chief scientist at Uber’s autonomous vehicle division. The partnership further develops Waabi’s previous collaboration with Uber Freight, reinforcing its commitment to advancing autonomous vehicle technology.
Waabi Driver Technology
Waabi’s innovative driver technology is trained using a unique closed-loop simulator dubbed Waabi World. This system builds digital representations of the environment, simulates real-time sensor data, and creates scenarios to enhance the learning process of the Waabi Driver. Urtasun asserts that this enables the vehicle to process its surroundings and make decisions autonomously, learning from fewer examples compared to conventional systems.
Investment and Market Position
- Total funding raised: Approximately $1.28 billion
- Series B funding closed at $200 million in June 2024
- Competitors’ funding: Aurora Innovation at $3.46 billion, Kodiak Robotics at $448 million
In just five years, Waabi has initiated several commercial pilots in Texas, although the full rollout of a driverless truck on public highways has faced delays. The company is in collaboration with Volvo to develop specialized autonomous trucks.
Future Prospects
Urtasun expresses confidence in Waabi’s market penetration capabilities due to the partnership with Uber. She highlights the direct-to-consumer model, allowing shippers to purchase outfitted trucks directly from the company. Despite not disclosing specific details about the Uber rollout, she envisions a robust market presence for Waabi’s autonomous solutions.
As Waabi ventures into the robotaxi domain, Urtasun underscores that this is merely the early phase of deployment, indicating further expansion and scaling opportunities on the horizon.
