Chip leaders AMD, Qualcomm, and Arm invest in Wayve's driverless car venture

The UK-based autonomous vehicle innovator, Wayve, announced on Wednesday that it has secured financial backing from Qualcomm, AMD, and Arm, aligning itself with major tech giants as it competes against rivals like Alphabet's Waymo.

The trio of chip companies invested a total of $60 million in Wayve, as the firm revealed on Wednesday, extending the $1.2 billion funding announced in February by the autonomous vehicle company.

Wayve's autonomous technology eschews the traditional necessity of high-definition maps or extensive localised training data, differentiating itself from competitors like Waymo.

This UK-based company has engineered its systems to be compatible with any car manufacturer.

However, various automakers utilise different processors for their autonomous vehicles, including those by NVIDIA or Qualcomm. Arm and AMD are active in the automotive chip sector.

The $1.2 billion fundraising from February saw NVIDIA join as an investor. With key semiconductor partners onboard now, Wayve can collaborate more directly with these firms as it advances its technology to market and seeks to engage more auto manufacturers.

"What's particularly thrilling for us is that it offers our customers the ability to choose their preferred silicon platform and matches us with the existing industry standards," stated Wayve CEO Alex Kendall in an interview with CNBC.

"We’re able to align with the industry’s current state, boosting our growth and efficiency."

Wayve is actively testing its driverless technology across the UK, Germany, Japan, and the US, having secured a partnership with Nissan to incorporate its AI into Nissan's commercial car assistance systems.

In March, Wayve, Nissan, and Uber also announced their collaboration on developing robotaxis.

Kendall refrained from disclosing details on forthcoming deals with carmakers, but suggested, "it's merely a matter of time before all vehicles will possess such capabilities," in reference to the driverless systems Wayve is crafting.

Wayve faces growing competition in its operational territories, with Waymo extending its test deployments beyond the US, specifically to Japan and the UK.

On Tuesday, Waymo shared that vehicles in London are being trialed with professional handlers at the wheel.

This marks a subsequent phase prior to rolling out passenger services, which Alphabet's subsidiary aims to launch within the year.

Simultaneously, Chinese companies such as Baidu, WeRide, and Pony.ai are extending their autonomous offerings to international markets.