Uber, SoftBank-Backed Wayve To Test Self-Driving Cars On Public Roads In UK

Wayve and Uber Technologies, Inc (NYSE:UBER) on Tuesday announced a first-ever plan to develop and launch public-road trials of Level 4 (L4) fully autonomous vehicles in London.

This was enabled by the U.K. Secretary of State for Transport’s announcement of an accelerated framework for self-driving commercial pilots.

In 2024, Wayve and Uber announced a multi-year collaboration to integrate Wayve’s Embodied AI into vehicles operating on the Uber platform.

This next phase moves the partnership into live operational trials on U.K. roads, building toward scaled deployment in key European markets.

Also Read: Uber Wins Analyst Praise For Robotaxi Boom, Lyft Faces Tougher Road Ahead

The announcement marks the U.K. as the largest market in which Uber shares plans to pilot autonomous vehicles.

The trials will combine Wayve’s Embodied AI platform with Uber’s global mobility network to bring autonomous vehicles to the streets of Europe at scale.

Wayve and Uber will collaborate with the U.K. Government and Transport for London on the regulatory approval process before the launch.

Heidi Alexander, Secretary of State for Transport, said that by fast-tracking pilots of self-driving vehicles to spring 2026, it noted safety-first tests that will drive growth, create 38,000 jobs, and add 42 billion pounds to its economy.

In April, Nissan Motor announced partnering with Wayve to power the next generation of its ProPilot driver-assist system, set to debut in vehicles by the 2027 fiscal year.

Wayve, backed by a $1.3 billion funding led by SoftBank (OTC:SFTBF) (OTC:SFTBY), has emerged as a key player in the autonomous vehicle space. Other major investors include Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA), Microsoft Corp (MSFT), and Uber.

Price Action: UBER stock is trading higher by 0.59% to $87.63 premarket at last check Tuesday.

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This article Uber, SoftBank-Backed Wayve To Test Self-Driving Cars On Public Roads In UK originally appeared on Benzinga.com