Waabi is making a major push to bring its autonomous driving technology beyond long-haul trucking — and investors are backing that expansion in a big way.
The Toronto-based startup said it has closed an oversubscribed $750 million Series C round, co-led by Khosla Ventures and G2 Venture Partners, in what it calls the largest fundraise in Canadian history. The financing also includes strategic participation from Uber, along with Nvidia’s venture arm, Volvo Group Venture Capital, Porsche Automobil Holding, BlackRock-managed funds, and several major Canadian institutions.
Alongside the funding, Waabi announced a deeper partnership with Uber that will take its technology into the robotaxi market. Uber has committed additional milestone-based future investment tied to the development and deployment of Waabi-powered vehicles, with the companies aiming to roll out 25,000 or more robotaxis over time. Under the agreement, those robotaxis would run exclusively on the Uber platform.
The announcement marks a notable expansion for Waabi, which has been focused primarily on autonomous trucking since its founding in 2021. CEO Raquel Urtasun said the company’s progress on both highways and surface streets has opened the door to what she described as a “direct-to-customer model” — and now a faster entry into robotaxis.
At the center of Waabi’s pitch is its “Physical AI Platform,” which combines an end-to-end driving model with a neural simulation system designed to train and validate autonomous behavior. Waabi says this approach allows the same underlying AI “brain” to operate across both trucks and passenger robotaxis, potentially speeding development across multiple vehicle types.
Investors are framing that scalability as a key differentiator. Vinod Khosla called Waabi’s platform a “fundamental leap forward” in driverless development, while G2’s Brook Porter pointed to simulation-first autonomy as a way to accelerate commercialization while reducing the cost of scaling.
For Uber, the deal fits into its broader strategy of partnering with autonomous vehicle developers rather than building its own fleet from scratch. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi described Waabi’s robotaxi push as an important milestone not just for the company, but for the autonomous vehicle industry more broadly.
The new funding gives Waabi fresh capital to continue advancing its trucking business while taking on one of the most competitive and capital-intensive frontiers in autonomy: deploying robotaxis at scale.
This analysis is based on reporting from GlobeNewswire News Room.
Image courtesy of GlobeNewswire.
This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy and quality.
