Nvidia Evaluates $500 Million Investment in Wayve’s AI Technology
Nvidia is assessing a potential investment of $500 million in Wayve, a company specializing in embodied artificial intelligence for autonomous vehicles. This decision follows the signing of a letter of intent between the two firms, as announced by Wayve in a press release on September 18, 2024. The investment aims to support Wayve’s upcoming funding round and enhance their collaborative efforts in developing advanced autonomous driving technologies.
The partnership between Nvidia and Wayve dates back to 2018, during which Wayve has utilized Nvidia’s technology in its robotic platforms. Notably, Nvidia participated in Wayve’s $1.05 billion Series C funding round in May 2024. Together, both companies aspire to provide automakers with robust, production-ready autonomous driving solutions that merge Wayve’s foundational model with Nvidia’s automotive-grade accelerated computing platforms. The next iteration, known as Wayve Gen 3, will be built on the Nvidia Drive AGX Thor system.
Alex Kendall, Co-founder and CEO of Wayve, expressed optimism regarding Nvidia’s involvement, stating, “Continued support from a global technology leader like Nvidia underscores confidence in our AV2.0 approach to building embodied AI and its potential to transform the future of mobility.” The AV2.0 concept is central to Wayve’s strategy, focusing on self-driving technology that learns to navigate various environments through experience, as opposed to relying solely on explicit programming.
Nvidia has recognized Wayve as a leader in end-to-end deep learning for autonomous driving. In a press release dated September 16, 2024, the company highlighted Wayve’s next-generation AV2.0 platform, which enables vehicles to adapt their driving intelligence to unfamiliar environments without requiring expensive sensors or high-definition maps. This innovation positions Wayve as a critical player in the evolving landscape of autonomous vehicle technology.
The recent funding round led by SoftBank Group included contributions from both Nvidia and Microsoft. Rishi Dhall, Vice President of Automotive Business at Nvidia, emphasized Wayve’s groundbreaking approach to AI applications during the funding announcement. He noted, “Wayve is pioneering new AI applications for their next-generation AV2.0 approach, built on Nvidia Drive Orin and Drive Thor, using the new Nvidia Blackwell architecture designed for transformer, LLM, and generative AI workloads. Together, we can help enable self-driving vehicles that deliver the intelligence, dependability, and skill of the best human drivers.”
In addition to its collaboration with Wayve, Nvidia has recently published over 70 research papers exploring how AI can function effectively in real-world scenarios beyond traditional text and image processing. This initiative aims to advance the concept of embodied intelligence, which refers to AI’s capability to perceive, reason, and act within various industries, including manufacturing, biotechnology, and transportation.
As the landscape of autonomous driving continues to evolve, the potential investment by Nvidia in Wayve signifies a strategic move to reinforce their commitment to advancing AI technologies in transportation. The collaboration between these two companies could pave the way for significant advancements in self-driving capabilities, contributing to the transformation of mobility solutions in the near future.
