Waabi launching robotaxi fleet with Uber after raising US$750-million
Toronto company's deal with Uber marks its first expansion outside of autonomous trucking
www.theglobeandmail.comWaabi Innovation Inc. has announced a major funding round and expansion plans as part of its push into robotaxis alongside Uber.
Key recent developments:
- Waabi secured about $1 billion in funding, combining a $750 million Series C and roughly $250 million in milestone-based funding from Uber. This supports scaling autonomous trucking and launching a robotaxi fleet on Uber’s platform. [Sources report dates around Jan 27–28, 2026][2][4][5]
- The funding round included participation from prominent investors such as Khosla Ventures, G2 Venture Partners, Uber, Nvidia, Volvo, Porsche, and BlackRock. The aim is to deploy tens of thousands of robotaxis powered by Waabi Driver on Uber’s platform, though timelines for deployment were not disclosed.[3][4][7]
- Waabi’s broader strategy is to accelerate commercialization of its “Physical AI” platform for both autonomous trucking and robotaxis, signaling a dual-path rollout in highway trucking and urban ridesharing.[1][4]
What this means moving forward:
- Robotaxi ambitions: Waabi plans to introduce a large robotaxi fleet exclusively on Uber’s platform; Uber is providing the milestone-based funding to support this expansion. The exact rollout timeline remains undisclosed.[2][3]
- Trucking and partnerships: Waabi continues to develop its autonomous trucking solutions and has existing or announced partnerships with Volvo for trucks and with Uber for robotaxis.[4][3]
- Market context: Waabi’s fundraising positions it as a leading contender in the growing autonomous vehicle space, competing with other self-driving and AI-driven mobility startups.[6][4]
Would you like a concise timeline of the key funding and partnership milestones, or a comparison table showing Waabi’s funding rounds, partners, and stated deployment ambitions? I can also pull direct quotes from the cited articles if you’d like.
Citations:
- Waabi funding and Uber robotaxi plans (Jan 2026)[4]
- Uber milestone-based funding and robotaxi deployment details[2]
- Additional reporting on robotaxi partnership and fleet ambitions[3]
- Context on broader strategy and partnerships (Volvo, Nvidia, etc.)[3]