Company:Waabi

From HandWiki
Waabi
TypePrivate
Industry
Founded2021; 5 years ago (2021)
FoundersRaquel Urtasun
Headquarters
Toronto, Canada
Key people
Websitewaabi.ai

Waabi is an artificial intelligence company developing self-driving technology. It is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The company was founded and is led by Raquel Urtasun, a University of Toronto professor and formerly chief scientist and head of research and development at Uber's Advanced Technologies Group.[1][2] Waabi focuses on creating driving software modeled after the human brain.[3]

History

Waabi was founded in 2021, with a focus on developing self-driving technology.[2] Waabi means "she has vision" in Ojibwe and "simple" in Japanese.[2]

In 2023, the company partnered with Uber Freight on a fleet of autonomous trucks to make commercial deliveries starting between Dallas and Houston, with a safety driver at the wheel.[1][4] In March 2024, Waabi and Nvidia announced a partnership to use the vehicle computing platform Nvidia Drive for generative AI-powered self-driving applications.[5]

In February 2025, Waabi announced a collaboration with Volvo Autonomous Solutions to jointly develop and deploy self-driving technology in Volvo's long-haul trucks.[6] In October 2025, Waabi and Volvo announced the launch of the Volvo VNL Autonomous truck, which integrates Waabi Driver into Volvo's existing autonomous truck technology.[7]

In August 2025, former Uber Freight CEO Lior Ron joined Waabi as COO.[4] He and Urtasun previously worked together for several years at Uber.[8]

In January 2026, Waabi announced a partnership with Uber to deploy 25,000 robotaxis on Uber's platform.[9]

Technology

Waabi has developed an end-to-end AI system that can carry out complex reasoning, for autonomous vehicles.[10] Rather than build systems that would require a large amount of road testing, the company created a simulator that could reason like a human and learn at scale.[1] According to Urtasun, Waabi began with a focus on long-haul trucking due to the shortage of truck drivers and to address safety concerns in long-haul truck driving.[11]

Waabi World is a simulator launched in 2022.[12] Its closed-loop simulator generates scenarios a self-driving vehicle could encounter in the real world, reducing the need for extensive real-world testing while minimizing costs and saving time.[1][13]

The Waabi Driver is the company's virtual driving system of software, sensors, and hardware. The company's Mixed Reality Testing enables Waabi Driver to drive autonomously down a physical test track, while experiencing simulated real-world scenarios.[14]

Funding

On June 8, 2021, it was reported that Waabi had raised $83.5 million USD in a series A funding round led by Khosla Ventures, at the time the largest series A funding round in Canadian history.[15][16] On June 18, 2024, Waabi announced that it had raised an additional $200 million USD in a series B funding round led by Uber and Khosla Ventures.[8][13] On January 28, 2026, Waabi announced that it had raised an additional $1 billion ($750 million in a series C funding round, led by Khosla Ventures and G2 Venture Partners, and a new $250 million investment from Uber related to robotaxi deployment).[17]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Tremayne-Pengelly, Alexandra (3 June 2025). "Canadian Startup Waabi Is Bringing Self-Driving Trucks to Texas: CEO Interview". Observer. https://observer.com/2025/06/raquel-urtasun-self-driving-truck-waabi/. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Korosec, Kirsten (8 June 2021). "AI pioneer Raquel Urtasun launches self-driving technology startup with backing from Khosla, Uber and Aurora". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/08/ai-pioneer-raquel-urtasun-launches-self-driving-vehicle-startup-with-backing-from-khosla-uber-and-aurora/. 
  3. ↑ Ohnsman, Alan. "Robot Trucker Waabi Wades Into Robotaxi Battle With Billion Dollar Raise" (in en). Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2026/01/28/robot-trucker-waabi-wades-into-robotaxi-battle-with-billion-dollar-raise/. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Silcoff, Sean (9 December 2025). "Waabi closes in on US$750-million financing, valuing driverless truck company at US$3-billion". Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-waabi-driverless-truck-raquel-urtasun-750-million-financing-khosla-g2/. 
  5. ↑ De Leon, Riley (18 June 2024). "Uber, Khosla, Nvidia invest in $200 million funding round for autonomous trucking startup Waabi". CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/18/uber-khosla-nvidia-invest-in-autonomous-trucking-startup-waabi.html. 
  6. ↑ Rosenbaum, Eric (4 February 2025). "Volvo to deploy Waabi self-driving gen AI to get more autonomous freight trucks on the road this year". CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/04/volvo-to-deploy-waabi-gen-ai-to-get-self-driving-trucks-on-the-road.html. 
  7. ↑ Malik, Aisha (28 October 2025). "Waabi unveils autonomous truck made in partnership with Volvo". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/28/waabi-unveils-autonomous-truck-made-in-partnership-with-volvo/. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Bellan, Rebecca (12 August 2025). "Uber Freight CEO Lior Ron leaves to join self-driving startup Waabi as COO". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/12/uber-freight-ceo-lior-ron-joins-self-driving-startup-waabi-as-chief-operating-officer/. 
  9. ↑ Tremayne-Pengelly, Alexandra (29 January 2026). "Waabi Raises $1B to Expand From Self-Driving Trucks to Robotaxis". Observer. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-waabi-uber-robotaxi-fleet-uber-raquel-urtasun/. 
  10. ↑ Kalvapalle, Rahul (19 June 2024). "Waabi, founded by U of T's Raquel Urtasun, raises US$200 million to launch self-driving trucks". U of T News. https://www.utoronto.ca/news/waabi-founded-u-t-s-raquel-urtasun-raises-us200-million-launch-self-driving-trucks. 
  11. ↑ Monga, Vipal (5 November 2021). "A Former Uber Executive Takes a Fresh Approach to Self-Driving Vehicles". Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/a-former-uber-executive-takes-a-fresh-approach-to-self-driving-vehicles-11636120929. 
  12. ↑ Hawkins, Andrew (9 February 2022). "Welcome to Waabi World, the ‘ultimate simulator’ for autonomous vehicles". The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/9/22923904/waabi-world-virtual-simulation-autonomous-vehicle-urtasun. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Castaldo, Joe (18 June 2024). "Waabi raises $200-million to launch driverless commercial trucks in Texas". Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-waabi-raises-200-million-to-launch-driverless-commercial-trucks-in/. 
  14. ↑ Bishop, Richard (7 August 2025). "Mixed Reality Testing Underpins Waabi’s Commercial Driverless Launch". Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardbishop1/2025/08/07/mixed-reality-testing-underpins-waabis-commercial-driverless-launch/. 
  15. ↑ Silcoff, Sean (8 June 2021). "U of T AI research star Raquel Urtasun raises US$83.5-million for self-driving startup four months after leaving Uber". Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-u-of-t-professor-nabs-us835-million-for-self-driving-startup/. 
  16. ↑ "Meet the Canadian AI visionary revolutionizing self-driving". BDC. 12 September 2022. https://www.bdc.ca/en/bdc-capital/venture-capital/resources/meet-canadian-ai-visionary-revolutionizing-self-driving. 
  17. ↑ Kahn, Jeremy (28 January 2026). "Waabi raises up to $1 billion and partners with Uber to deploy 25,000 robotaxis as the race to dominate self-driving heats up". Fortune. https://fortune.com/2026/01/28/waabi-fundraise-valuation-1-billion-partners-with-uber-robotaxis-self-driving/. 



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