# Waabi **Source:** https://geo.sig.ai/brands/waabi **Vertical:** Transportation **Subcategory:** General **Tier:** Leader **Website:** waabi.ai **Last Updated:** 2026-04-22 ## Summary $1B round in Jan 2026 ($750M Series C + $250M from Uber). Expanding from autonomous trucking into robotaxis via Uber partnership. Volvo VNL Autonomous launch. ## Company Overview Waabi is a Toronto, Ontario-based autonomous trucking company — having raised over $280 million including a $200 million Series B in June 2024 led by Uber and Khosla Ventures — developing the Waabi Driver, an end-to-end generative AI system that operates Class 8 trucks without human safety drivers using a single interpretable neural network rather than the rule-based stacks used by competitors. Founded in 2021 by CEO Raquel Urtasun (University of Toronto professor, former Chief Scientist of Uber ATG, and endorsed by NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton), Waabi has partnered with Volvo Autonomous Solutions to produce the Volvo VNL Autonomous truck — featuring Waabi's AI driver integrated with six redundant safety systems and manufactured at Volvo's New River Valley plant in Virginia. Waabi runs autonomous freight shipments for Fortune 500 companies through its Uber Freight partnership in Texas, and has demonstrated complete autonomous driving capability across highways and general surface streets with driverless commercial operations targeting 2025. Waabi's generative AI approach addresses the data collection bottleneck that has prevented autonomous trucking commercialization: competing AV trucking companies (Waymo Via, now defunct TuSimple, Aurora) built their systems by logging millions of miles of real-world driving data to train neural networks — a capital-intensive approach requiring large safety driver fleets for years before achieving driverless capability. Waabi's Waabi World simulator (which automatically generates realistic driving scenarios including rare and dangerous edge cases that real-world data collection would take decades to encounter at sufficient frequency) enables training on the full distribution of driving scenarios without proportional real-world miles. The Waabi Driver's single end-to-end neural network (perceiving the environment, predicting other actors' behavior, and planning the truck's path in one unified model) enables interpretability and formal safety verification that multi-component AV stacks cannot provide to regulators and insurance underwriters. In 2025, Waabi competes in the autonomous long-haul trucking, driverless freight, and AV software platform market with Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ: AUR, Aurora Driver platform, $7B+ in partnerships with Uber Freight and FedEx), Kodiak Robotics (private, autonomous trucking, $250M+ raised), and Plus.ai (private, supervised autonomous trucking) for commercial trucking company and logistics operator autonomous mile contracts in Sun Belt freight corridors. The Volvo truck hardware partnership differentiates Waabi from software-only AV approaches by creating a production-ready vehicle with OEM-integrated redundancy systems — addressing the fleet operator concern that AV software retrofits create liability gaps that purpose-built autonomous vehicles eliminate. Aurora's NASDAQ listing and Uber/FedEx contract announcements have made autonomous trucking commercialization timelines a public market question; Waabi's Series B from Uber positions Waabi as a potential Aurora competitor for Uber Freight routing. The 2025 strategy focuses on achieving commercial driverless launch in Texas freight corridors, expanding Volvo VNL Autonomous truck production commitments, and building the insurance and regulatory framework for driverless commercial operations. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Waabi? Waabi is an autonomous trucking company founded in 2021 by AI pioneer Raquel Urtasun that is developing fully driverless trucks powered by generative AI. The company uses an end-to-end AI system called Waabi Driver and a revolutionary neural simulator called Waabi World to create safer, more efficient autonomous vehicles that can operate without human safety drivers. ### Who are Waabi's customers and target market? Waabi serves logistics companies, freight carriers, and shippers through its partnership with Uber Freight. Current customers include Fortune 500 companies and top-tier shippers operating in Texas. The target market is the $800 billion trucking industry, addressing driver shortages, safety concerns, and operational efficiency needs. ### When was Waabi founded? Waabi was founded in 2021 by Raquel Urtasun, a University of Toronto AI professor and former lead of Uber's Advanced Technologies Group. The company raised $83.5 million in seed funding in June 2021, one of the largest seed rounds in autonomous vehicle history. ### Where is Waabi based? Waabi is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The company operates testing and commercial deployment facilities in Texas, United States, where it runs autonomous shipments for Fortune 500 companies through its Uber Freight partnership. ### How much funding has Waabi raised? Waabi has raised over $280 million in total funding, including an $83.5 million seed round in 2021 and a $200 million Series B in June 2024. The Series B was led by Uber and Khosla Ventures with participation from NVIDIA, Volvo Group Venture Capital, Porsche, Scania, and other strategic and financial investors. ### What makes Waabi different from competitors? Waabi differentiates through its AI-first approach using generative AI and a single end-to-end neural network for human-like reasoning, requiring less training data than competitors. The Waabi World neural simulator enables comprehensive testing without massive real-world data collection. The company's technical leadership under AI pioneer Raquel Urtasun and strong partnerships with Uber, Volvo, and NVIDIA further distinguish it. ### Who are Waabi's main competitors? Main competitors in autonomous trucking include Aurora (which acquired Uber ATG), TuSimple, Kodiak Robotics, Plus, Embark (ceased operations), and traditional players like Waymo Freight. Waabi competes through superior AI technology and strategic partnerships rather than large-scale fleet deployment. ### How can I contact Waabi? Waabi can be contacted through their website at waabi.ai, with headquarters in Toronto, Canada and operations in Texas. The company engages with logistics partners, shippers, and technology collaborators interested in autonomous trucking solutions. ### Is Waabi hiring? Yes, Waabi hires top AI researchers, engineers, and autonomous vehicle specialists. The company offers opportunities to work with AI pioneer Raquel Urtasun on cutting-edge generative AI and autonomous vehicle technology. Check waabi.ai/careers for current openings in Toronto and Texas. ### What's the latest news about Waabi? In October 2025, Waabi unveiled the Volvo VNL Autonomous truck in partnership with Volvo Autonomous Solutions. In Q1 2025, the company achieved complete autonomous driving capabilities across highways and surface streets. Waabi is on track to launch fully driverless commercial operations in 2025, partnering with Uber Freight to serve Fortune 500 shippers. ### What is Waabi's market position? Waabi is a leading autonomous trucking startup with $280+ million in funding and strong partnerships with Uber, Volvo, and NVIDIA. The company is considered a frontrunner in the race to commercialize fully driverless trucks, differentiated by its generative AI technology and AI-first approach under founder Raquel Urtasun's leadership. ### What are Waabi's future plans? Waabi plans to launch fully driverless autonomous trucks in commercial operations in 2025, aiming to be the first to commercialize self-driving trucks without human safety drivers. The company is scaling production of the Volvo VNL Autonomous truck, expanding operations in Texas, and continuing to advance its generative AI technology to transform the $800 billion trucking industry. ## Tags b2b, transportation, ai-powered, hardware, startup, supply-chain --- *Data from geo.sig.ai Brand Intelligence Database. Updated 2026-04-22.*