A prototype of Nissan’s Leaf-based self-driving car, powered by Wave Technologies’ AI driver software and connected to Uber Technologies’ ride-hailing platform, is on display during a press conference in Tokyo, Thursday, March 12, 2026.
Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | Getty Images
British self-driving startup Wave announced on Wednesday that it has raised funding from: Qualcomm, AMD and armadds some of the technology industry’s most famous names to its long list of backers as it battles rivals such as: alphabetWaymo.
The company announced Wednesday that three semiconductor companies have invested $60 million in Wave, a follow-up investment to a $1.2 billion funding round that Wave announced in February.
Although relatively small in size, this investment is strategic in nature.
Wayve’s technology is designed to allow cars to drive themselves without the need for high-definition maps or extensive training in specific areas, a different approach than competitors like Waymo.
The UK-based company has designed its technology to work with any car manufacturer. But different automakers are using different chips to power self-driving cars. Nvidia Or Qualcomm. Arm and AMD are both involved in automated chips.
In a $1.2 billion funding round from February, Wayve announced Nvidia as a backer. With all major semiconductor companies now on board, there is scope for Wayve to work more closely with these companies with the aim of commercializing its technology and selling it to more automakers.
“What’s interesting for us is that our customers can choose which silicon platform they want to work with, and we’ll be able to work with what’s already in use across the industry,” Wayve CEO Alex Kendall said in an interview with CNBC.
“We are able to respond to the current state of the industry. This will only increase the speed and scale of adoption.”
Wayve is currently testing self-driving cars in the UK, Germany, Japan and the US, and has signed a commercial agreement with Nissan to integrate its AI into its commercial vehicle driver assistance systems. In March, both companies Uber He said he would also develop robotaxis.
Kendall declined to comment on other ongoing deals with automakers, but said, “I think it’s only a matter of time before every vehicle has this type of capability,” referring to the driverless systems Wave is developing.
Wayve faces increased competition in the markets in which it operates. Waymo is testing cars outside the U.S. in Japan and the U.K.
Waymo announced Tuesday that its fleet in London will now be operated by trained professionals. This is another step before the Alphabet company launches a ride-hailing service for passengers, which it hopes to launch this year.
On the other hand, Chinese players Baidu, we ride and pony eyeis expanding its offering of unmanned technology overseas.
