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 immediately mentioned it has closed an oversubscribed $750 million Sequence C spherical to speed up its commercialization of autonomous vehicles. The corporate has additionally secured further funding from Uber Applied sciences Inc. and mentioned the strategic partnership will assist 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 supplies an unprecedented alternative to rapidly and seamlessly enter the robotaxi market, delivering a very scalable answer for each verticals,” she added.
Based in 2021, Waabi mentioned its Bodily AI Platform generalizes to completely different kind components, 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 carry AI mind to each vehicles and taxis
Waabi mentioned its strategy permits the identical AI mannequin to behave as a “shared mind” for each autonomous vehicles and robotaxis. The firm asserted that its enlargement into self-driving passenger autos will finally enhance the Waabi Driver’s general capabilities.
Underneath the partnership, Uber will make investments further milestone-based capital to assist the event of robotaxis utilizing the Waabi Driver. The businesses mentioned they plan to deploy 25,000 or extra autonomous autos (AVs).
“We’re thrilled to associate with the best-in-class ridesharing platform to carry a couple of safer, extra environment friendly, and sustainable future,” mentioned 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 necessary milestone for his or her crew and the AV {industry} extra broadly,” mentioned 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 section 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 traders be part of Waabi spherical
Khosla Ventures and G2 Enterprise companions co-led Waabi’s Sequence C spherical, which the corporate mentioned is the most important fundraise in Canadian historical past.
“We put money into the businesses which can be main the AI period,” mentioned Vinod Khosla, founding father of Khosla Ventures. “Waabi has developed a very groundbreaking bodily AI platform that represents a elementary leap ahead in how next-generation driverless know-how is being developed.”
Different strategic traders included NVentures (NVIDIA’s enterprise capital arm), Volvo Group Enterprise Capital, and Porsche Automobil Holding SE.
“Waabi is basically altering the trajectory of autonomous transportation,” mentioned 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 companies corresponding to BDC Capital’s Thrive Enterprise Fund, Export Growth Canada (EDC), TELUS World Ventures, and BMO World Asset Administration have 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 by way of special-purpose acquisition corporations (SPACs) final 12 months.
