ChatHGV: Uber and Nvidia invest in AI truck driving startup Waabi

Waabi, an AI-driven trucking start-up backed by Nvidia and Uber, has drummed up $200 million of new funds via a Series B round.

Porsche and Volvo were also among the other big names reportedly backing the firm through the oversubscribed investment round.

Proceeds are expected to help Waabi launch its fully driverless trucks in Texas, as soon as next year.

Waabi is taking a different route to autonomous driving to the likes of Tesla, as it the start-up is using generative AI systems.

The startup says its technology “on the verge of Level 4 autonomy”, within just three years since the company’s inception.

‘Level 4’ is seen as a major threshold for autonomous driving, it means that the system is able to intervene with action itself if something unexpected happens, whereas at Level 3 human drivers must remain attentive, watch the road and supervise the vehicle.

At Level 4, it is predicted that vehicles could travel with minimal human oversight or supervision. There is a fifth level, in which there would be zero need for human drivers to be present at all.

“Waabi has pioneered a single end-to-end AI system that is capable of human-like reasoning, enabling it to generalize to any situation that might happen on the road, including those it has never seen before,” Waabi said in a statement.

“Because it is able to reason, the system requires significantly less training data and compute resources compared to other end-to-end approaches.”

Founder and chief executive Raquel Urtasun commented: “I have spent most of my professional life dedicated to inventing new AI technologies that can deliver on the enormous potential of AI in the physical world in a provably safe and scalable way.

“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.”

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang added: “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.”

Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi, meanwhile, said: “We are big believers in the potential for autonomous technology to revolutionize transportation, making a safer and more sustainable future possible.

“Waabi’s AI-first approach provides a solution that is extremely exciting in both its scalability and capital efficiency.”