Nvidia, the prominent technology company, is exploring a potential investment of $500 million into Wayve, a U.K.-based self-driving technology startup established in 2017. This double-whammy comes just as a windfall for the chip giant’s own £2 billion strategy to boost the U.K.’s fledgling AI startup scene. That might even include investment for cutting edge firms such as Wayve.
What Wayve has made waves for in the burgeoning autonomous vehicle industry is their self-learning way of doing driving software. This strategy projects the approaches used by Tesla, deeply leaning into machine learning to improve decision-making on-the-fly in real time. The company’s patented system easily integrates with current vehicle sensor platforms including cameras and radar. This design provides flexibility that is not dependent on a certain sensor configuration or a prior established map.
Wayve that has recently deployed its generation 2 self-driving platform. Our amazing new tech is all built around the incredible graphics processing units, or GPUs, from Nvidia. This platform is now being tested in Ford Mach-E vehicles, bringing together a new level of technological advancement, capacity, and progress.
Wayve’s upcoming generation 3 platform promises to enhance the company’s offerings by enabling “eyes-off” advanced driving assistance systems and Level 4 driverless capabilities. This new platform has been designed to excel at both city street and highway speeds, improving urban mobility applications while getting people safely across the county or state.
The generation 3 platform will utilize Nvidia’s Drive AGX Thor, an in-vehicle compute autonomous vehicle development kit that supports Wayve’s ambitious goals. Wayve is now positioning itself to commercialise its own “Embodied AI” technology to carmakers and technology companies. By leading this critical initiative, they are re-establishing themselves as a major player in the emerging self-driving landscape.
Wayve’s co-founder and CEO, Alex Kendall speaks to opportunities when talking about Nvidia’s collaborative power. Their collaborative development partnership has flourished since 2018.
“I really loved that experience, and it was cool to show him what we’ve always been building on as a result of Nvidia’s platform over the years.” – Alex Kendall
How this partnership pans out will have significant impact on the future of autonomous driving technology. Kendall remembers the thrill of demonstrating their innovations on the crowded streets of London.
“We picked him up from his hotel and went for a drive around Central London through some really busy streets, including Hyde Park corner — that’s this massive roundabout here.” – Alex Kendall
The self-driving industry is changing by the day. While investment of this nature is never guaranteed or straightforward, if Nvidia does invest in Wayve it could catalyze tremendous breakthroughs in AI-driven automotive solutions. The startup is focused on creating advanced technology. This commitment only bolsters its claim to be the strongest competitor in the rapidly-expanding market for AVs.
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