Waabi raises $1 billion: 25,000 robotaxis planned for Uber
Canadian Physical-AI startup Waabi, specialized in autonomous trucks, is securing $1 billion in funding. The startup is raising $750 million in an oversubscribed Series C, co-led by Khosla Ventures and G2 Venture Partners. An additional $250 million comes from Uber for expansion into the robotaxi market.
The partnership envisions the deployment of at least 25,000 Waabi-Driver-powered robotaxis on the Uber platform. For the first time, the company founded in 2021 is expanding beyond autonomous trucks. Waabi develops a generative end-to-end AI for autonomous driving and works with manufacturers like Volvo. For Waabi founder and CEO Raquel Urtasun, the Uber partnership closes a circle. She was previously Chief Scientist at Uber ATG. In 2020, the autonomous vehicle division was sold to Aurora Innovation.
Largest funding round in Canadian history
The $750 million Series C is the largest funding round in Canadian history and brings Waabi’s total funding to approximately $1.28 billion, following the company’s completion of a $200 million Series B in June 2024. For comparison: competitor Aurora Innovation has raised $3.46 billion to date, Kodiak Robotics $448 million.
Alongside the lead investors, the Series C includes strategic players such as Uber, NVentures (NVIDIA’s venture capital arm), Volvo Group Venture Capital and Porsche Automobil Holding SE, as well as financial investors like BlackRock, Radical Ventures, HarbourVest Partners, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and Canadian investors such as BDC Capital’s Thrive Venture Fund, Export Development Canada, and TELUS Global Ventures.
“Waabi has developed a truly groundbreaking Physical AI platform that represents a fundamental leap forward in how next generation driverless technology is being developed. This breakthrough will define AI for decades to come,” said Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures.
Uber relies on multiple partners for autonomous vehicle systems
The Uber partnership builds on existing collaboration with logistics subsidiary Uber Freight and positions Waabi alongside Waymo, Nuro, Avride, Wayve, WeRide, and Momenta as one of several AV (Autonomous Vehicle) partners Uber engages. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi emphasizes: “Waabi’s expanded focus on robotaxis marks an important milestone for their team and the AV industry more broadly. We’re very excited to deepen our partnership with Waabi as they significantly scale their Physical AI Platform and enter a new phase of an already remarkable journey.”
In autonomous trucking, however, Waabi is running behind its own timeline: the fully driverless truck launch on public highways planned for the end of last year has shifted to the next quarters. Currently, the company operates several commercial pilot projects in Texas. Urtasun remains confident nonetheless: demand for Waabi’s direct-to-customer model, in which logistics companies can purchase equipped trucks directly, is high. And for autonomous vehicles, the principle holds: “There’s a lot more scale to come,” said the Waabi CEO.
