Waabi, a Toronto-based autonomous trucking startup, is expanding its focus to include autonomous rideshare vehicles in partnership with Uber. Founded by Raquel Urtasun, a former chief scientist at Uber, Waabi initially concentrated on an AI-centric approach to autonomous vehicles, particularly in the trucking sector. However, facing challenges in self-driving trucks, the company is now broadening its scope to showcase its ‘physical AI’ capabilities through robotaxi deployment.
Securing $1 billion in funding, including a significant Series C round led by Khosla Ventures and G2 Venture Partners, Waabi will collaborate with Uber to deploy a minimum of 25,000 robotaxis integrated with its technology on Uber’s platform. Urtasun highlighted the partnership’s potential to significantly scale up the robotaxi market.
This collaboration marks a significant move for Waabi, which is yet to validate its self-driving trucks for commercial use. Despite the lack of specifics on deployment timelines or target markets, the partnership signifies a step towards advancing autonomous transportation technology.
Source: The Verge