Waabi

Last updated
Waabi
Company type Private
Industry
Founded2021;5 years ago (2021)
Founders Raquel Urtasun
Headquarters
Toronto, Canada
Key people
Website waabi.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]

Contents

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 2 3 4 Tremayne-Pengelly, Alexandra (3 June 2025). "Canadian Startup Waabi Is Bringing Self-Driving Trucks to Texas: CEO Interview". Observer. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Korosec, Kirsten (8 June 2021). "AI pioneer Raquel Urtasun launches self-driving technology startup with backing from Khosla, Uber and Aurora". TechCrunch. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  3. ↑ Ohnsman, Alan. "Robot Trucker Waabi Wades Into Robotaxi Battle With Billion Dollar Raise". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2026-01-30. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  4. 1 2 Silcoff, Sean (9 December 2025). "Waabi closes in on US$750-million financing, valuing driverless truck company at US$3-billion". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  5. ↑ De Leon, Riley (18 June 2024). "Uber, Khosla, Nvidia invest in $200 million funding round for autonomous trucking startup Waabi". CNBC. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  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. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  7. ↑ Malik, Aisha (28 October 2025). "Waabi unveils autonomous truck made in partnership with Volvo". TechCrunch. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  8. 1 2 Bellan, Rebecca (12 August 2025). "Uber Freight CEO Lior Ron leaves to join self-driving startup Waabi as COO". TechCrunch. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  9. ↑ Tremayne-Pengelly, Alexandra (29 January 2026). "Waabi Raises $1B to Expand From Self-Driving Trucks to Robotaxis". Observer. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
  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. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  11. ↑ Monga, Vipal (5 November 2021). "A Former Uber Executive Takes a Fresh Approach to Self-Driving Vehicles". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  12. ↑ Hawkins, Andrew (9 February 2022). "Welcome to Waabi World, the 'ultimate simulator' for autonomous vehicles". The Verge. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  13. 1 2 Castaldo, Joe (18 June 2024). "Waabi raises $200-million to launch driverless commercial trucks in Texas". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  14. ↑ Bishop, Richard (7 August 2025). "Mixed Reality Testing Underpins Waabi's Commercial Driverless Launch". Forbes. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  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. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  16. ↑ "Meet the Canadian AI visionary revolutionizing self-driving". BDC. 12 September 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  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. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
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