Toronto based Waabi, has announced raising $200 million in an oversubscribed Series B funding round, led by Uber and Khosla Ventures. Notable investors like NVIDIA, Volvo Group Venture Capital, Porsche Automobil Holding SE, Scania Invest, and Ingka Investments also participated. Additional financial backers include HarbourVest Partners, G2 Venture Partners, BDC Capital’s Thrive Venture Fund, Export Development Canada, Radical Ventures, and Incharge Capital. This funding, bringing Waabi’s total investment to over $280 million, will accelerate the rollout of fully driverless, AI-powered autonomous trucks by 2025.
Key Details of the Project
- Location: Canada and the United States
- Investment Amount: $200 million (Series B)
- Total Investment: Over $280 million
- Goal: Deploy fully driverless trucks by 2025
Rapid Advancements in AI and Autonomous Driving
Founded just three years ago, Waabi is nearing Level 4 autonomy. The company claims that it has developed a single end-to-end AI system that mirrors human-like reasoning, enabling it to handle any road scenario, even unprecedented ones. This system as per Waabi requires less training data and computational power, setting it apart from other approaches. Furthermore, Waabi’s system is fully interpretable, ensuring its safety can be validated and verified.
Leadership and Vision
Raquel Urtasun, Founder and CEO of Waabi, shared her vision: “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.”
Strategic Partnerships and Industry Support
The Series B round saw participation from industry leaders and innovators across various sectors:
- Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber: “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: “Change never comes from incumbents but from the innovation of entrepreneurs that challenge the status quo. Raquel and her team at Waabi have done exactly that with their products and business execution. We backed Waabi very early on with the bet that generative AI would transform transportation and are thrilled to continue on this journey with them as they move towards commercialization.”
- Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO of NVIDIA: “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. I have championed Raquel’s pioneering work in AI for more than a decade. Her tenacity to solve the impossible is an inspiration.”
Expansion and Future Plans
The new funding will be instrumental in expanding Waabi’s operations, particularly in Texas where it has recently opened a new autonomous vehicle (AV) trucking terminal. Collaborations with industry giants like NVIDIA and Uber Freight bolster Waabi’s technological capabilities and market reach, facilitating autonomous shipments for Fortune 500 companies and top-tier shippers.
Industry Impact
Investors and industry leaders recognize the transformative potential of Waabi’s technology:
- Nils Jaeger, President of Volvo Autonomous Solutions: “With autonomy, we are at the forefront of a new and complementary transport mode that will alleviate freight capacity constraints and by that enhance trade and economic growth. As Volvo Group we feel confident that continued investment into a competitive autonomous driving landscape will not only stimulate additional technological capabilities- but enable the evolution and maturity of the autonomous vehicle industry. Waabi has shown great progress since the first investment, and we are happy to share our continued support by participation in this round.”
- Lutz Meschke, Member of the Executive Board for Investment Management at Porsche Automobil Holding SE: “With its innovative AI-powered approach, Waabi has built a convincing, cost-efficient, and scalable solution to enable safe autonomous driving across a variety of applications. Their autonomous trucking technology has enormous potential to solve some of the key challenges facing that industry. We are proud to back this company as they lead the way to a new autonomous future.”
Canadian Leadership in AI
Isabelle Hudon, President and CEO of the Business Development Bank of Canada, celebrated Waabi’s achievement: “Congratulations to Waabi on securing one of the largest series B financings in Canadian history. As part of our efforts to invest in Canada’s most innovative women-led businesses and accelerate their journey, BDC’s support for Raquel since Waabi’s inception has been steadfast, and we’re proud to further strengthen our commitment to help bring her bold vision to life. Waabi is not only shaping the future of transportation, but also solidifying Canada’s position as a leader in AI and pushing the boundaries of what it can help us achieve.”