Waabi is a pioneering autonomous vehicle startup founded in 2021 by Raquel Urtasun, a renowned expert in computer vision and artificial intelligence.
The company's name means "she has vision" in some First Nations languages and "simple" in Japanese, reflecting Urtasun's expertise and the company's goal to simplify self-driving technology.
Focus on autonomous trucking: Waabi is developing AI-powered autonomous trucks, aiming to launch fully driverless operations by 2025.
Generative AI approach: The company uses a single end-to-end AI system called the Waabi Driver, capable of human-like reasoning and generalization to various road scenarios.
Advanced simulation: Waabi World, their highly advanced simulator, allows for efficient testing and development without extensive on-road miles.
Significant funding: Waabi recently raised $200 million in a Series B funding round, bringing total investment to over $280 million.
Industry partnerships: The company has strategic investors and partners including Uber, Khosla Ventures, NVIDIA, Volvo Group, and Porsche.
Unique leadership: Waabi is one of the few women-led autonomous vehicle startups in the industry.
Waabi's innovative approach combines generative AI, advanced simulation, and efficient development processes to create a potentially safer and more scalable solution for autonomous trucking.