UK AI Company To Develop Next Gen Self-driving Cars

British AI company Wayve has announced plans to invest $1.05 billion to develop the next generation of AI-powered self-driving vehicles.

Backed by SoftBank Group, NVIDIA and Microsoft, Wayve will use this investment to develop and launch the first “embodied AI” technology for self-driving vehicles in the UK.

Embodied AI will enable automated vehicles to learn from and interact with a real-world environment, including the ability to navigate and learn from situations that do not follow strict patterns or rules, such as unexpected actions by drivers or pedestrians – going far beyond the capabilities of existing AV technology.

Between 2018 and 2022, the UK self-driving vehicle sector alone generated £475 million of direct investment and created 1,500 new jobs, the Prime Minister’s Office said.

As the self-driving vehicle industry grows in the UK, it is expected to be worth 42 billion pounds ($52 billion) and create 38,000 more skilled jobs by 2035. The AI sector also already employs more than 50,000 people in the UK and contributes more than £3.7 billion to our economy every year. By 2035, our AI market is forecast to grow to more than $1 trillion.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said, “We are leaving no stone unturned to create the economic conditions for start-ups to grow and thrive in the UK. We already have the third highest number of AI companies and private investment in AI in the world, and this announcement anchors the UK’s position as an AI superpower”.

Business News