A partnership that aims to put the UK at the forefront of self-driving vehicle technology has been signed by the Government with Wayve.
Wayve, founded in Cambridge and now based in London, recently revealed fresh funding of potentially more than $1.5 billion, which valued the company at $9bn.
It has been backed by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Arm, Qualcomm Ventures, Eclipse, Balderton, SoftBank, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Baillie Gifford, British Business Bank, Icehouse Ventures, Schroders Capital, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Uber, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Stellantis.
Now it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government to deepen collaboration on next‑generation self‑driving technologies and back the scaleup.
The agreement brings government and industry together around shared research interests, they said, supporting responsible deployment of automated vehicles while reinforcing the UK’s global leadership in autonomous and AI‑enabled mobility.
By linking cutting‑edge AI research with real‑world deployment and manufacturing, the partnership aims to act as a catalyst for new investment, skilled jobs and long‑term growth across the UK automotive ecosystem, sending a clear signal that the UK is the best place for ambitious tech companies to scale up.
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Business Secretary Peter Kyle said: “This partnership with Wayve shows how government is backing high‑growth British scale‑ups through our Modern Industrial Strategy to turn world‑leading research into real‑world deployment.
“By working hand‑in‑hand with innovative companies, we are accelerating self‑driving technology while anchoring jobs, investment and manufacturing here in the UK — making Britain the best place to start, scale and grow a business.”
Alex Kendall (pictured), co-founder and CEO of Wayve, said: “I’m delighted to deepen our collaboration with the Department for Business and Trade. We share the Government’s ambition to drive economic growth through the development of the self-driving vehicle sector in the UK and globally.
“Strengthening domestic capabilities will anchor high-value manufacturing in the UK, create thousands of skilled jobs across the supply chain, and support the future of the automotive industry. This is in addition to the transformative benefits to road safety to be gained from self-driving vehicles deployed at scale.
“Wayve has a proud history of developing our technology in the UK. We look forward to working with DBT on a shared set of priorities to ensure the UK continues to lead and that the full set of benefits is realised across the country.”
Science and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: “Wayve is a true British AI success story, putting the UK at the forefront of self-driving technology.
“This agreement will help secure high-skilled tech and advanced manufacturing jobs in this country.
“By working with companies such as Wayve we are rebuilding Britain for the modern age and sending a clear signal that the UK is the best place for ambitious tech firms to start up and scale up.”
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The MoU sets out how DBT and Wayve will collaborate on research that helps move automated vehicles from prototype to large‑scale, commercially viable services operating on UK roads.
This includes work on safety assurance, simulation at scale and integration of full self‑driving technology into production‑ready vehicle platforms, helping the UK lead internationally on responsible deployment.
The partnership also reinforces the UK’s ambition to be a global hub for automated vehicle manufacturing, strengthening domestic supply chains in areas such as AI, systems integration and advanced automotive hardware.
Wayve will share insights from real‑world trials with Government and regulators, supporting learning that can unlock national roll-out of self-driving services and inform future regulations and standards.
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