Uber has opened bookings for Wayve-operated autonomous vehicles in London from today, making the London-based startup the first robotaxi operator to carry public passengers in the capital. Wayve closed a $1.5bn Series D in February at an $8.6bn post-money valuation, with Uber itself on the cap table.
Wayve was founded in Cambridge in 2017 and is now headquartered in London. It builds an end-to-end learned driving system rather than the mapped, rules-based stacks used by most rivals, an approach that has attracted both automotive manufacturers and infrastructure investors to its share register.
Bookings opened on Thursday through the Uber app. Riders matched with a Wayve vehicle pay standard UberX, Uber Comfort or Uber Electric rates, can rate the trip out of five, and are not prompted to tip. The fleet is made up of all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E cars fitted with a touchscreen supporting 64 languages.
This is a supervised launch. Human safety operators remain behind the wheel, and the deployment starts in the order of dozens of vehicles, with current safety authorisation covering 15 supervised cars. Transport for London granted Wayve private hire vehicle licences last month; guidance covering fully driverless operation is expected shortly, and no operator has yet entered that approval process.
The deal mechanics behind the launch are unusually layered. Wayve's $1.5bn Series D, announced on 25 February 2026, comprised a $1.2bn equity round plus milestone-based capital committed by Uber. The round was co-led by Eclipse, Balderton and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and priced the company at $8.6bn post-money.
The participant list reads as a strategic roll-call. Microsoft, Nvidia, Uber, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Stellantis took part alongside financial investors including Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Baillie Gifford, Schroders Capital, Icehouse Ventures and the British Business Bank. That follows the $1.05bn SoftBank-led Series C of 2024, taking disclosed backing past $2.5bn.
Uber's position is the notable cap-table feature: it is simultaneously an equity holder, a commercial distribution partner and the source of milestone-linked capital, tying part of Wayve's funding to operational delivery of exactly the sort now visible on London roads.
The competitive clock is running. Alphabet's Waymo intends to operate fully driverless in London by year-end subject to government approval, and Baidu is working with Lyft. Wayve and Uber plan Tokyo next, with Nissan, followed by a further 10 cities under their partnership.
Original source: Reuters — https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-news/2026/09/03/uber-wayve-launch-london039s-first-robotaxi-service
