Waabi
Waabi builds AI driving software for self-driving trucks and, now, robotaxis, using simulation instead of road miles.
On the record
Checkpoint: Waabi's first fully driverless commercial trucking or robotaxi deployment
The call
Waabi has the money and the partners but not the trucks on the road, while Kodiak and Aurora already do.
Waabi is building self-driving technology for trucks, with backing from major investors and partnerships with truck maker Volvo and ride-sharing company Uber. The problem is that competitors like Kodiak and Aurora have already launched actual driverless truck services, while Waabi's own launch keeps getting pushed back, from 2025 to around 2027. Right now Waabi only has a simulator and plans, not a working product customers can use, which makes it much harder to defend its position if other companies prove they can do the job reliably and safely first. The company could change the picture by actually shipping working driverless trucks on time and showing they work better or cheaper than what Kodiak and Aurora are already doing.
Why
01
AI pressure: Waymo Driver (Alphabet). Waymo already carries paying robotaxi riders on real-world-trained AI while Waabi's Uber robotaxi plan is still unbuilt. Could AI do the core job? Only partly.
02
Bigger players: Aurora Innovation. Aurora runs driverless Class-8 trucks on Texas highways now; analysts call the freight market Aurora's to lose. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.
03
What protects it. A 10-year Uber Freight deal, Volvo's VNL Autonomous truck, and $1.28B in capital buy Waabi time to ship.
What would change this call
Waabi ships fully driverless (no safety driver) commercial trucking revenue by end of 2027. Confirms the roadmap bet converts to real product on schedule rather than slipping again.
Aurora or Kodiak scales driverless Class-8 fleets in Texas through end-2026 while Waabi remains in piloted/safety-driver stage. Would show rivals converting first-mover speed into durable share before Waabi launches.
Uber begins deploying any of the pledged 25,000 Waabi-powered robotaxis on its platform. Tests whether the Uber distribution deal converts to real deployed vehicles or stays unfulfilled.
Aurora or Kodiak scales driverless Class-8 fleets in Texas through end-2026 while Waabi remains in piloted/safety-driver stage. Would show rivals converting first-mover speed into durable share before Waabi launches.
Uber begins deploying any of the pledged 25,000 Waabi-powered robotaxis on its platform. Tests whether the Uber distribution deal converts to real deployed vehicles or stays unfulfilled.
Key numbers
- $1.28B raised cumulatively
- Kodiak ran driverless trucks first, Dec 2024
- Driverless launch slipped from 2025 to 2027
Named risks
- Driverless commercial launch has already slipped from 2025 to around 2027 with no confirmed new date.
- Rivals Kodiak and Aurora are ahead in shipping actual driverless commercial operations.
- Heavy reliance on Uber for robotaxi distribution and Volvo for trucking hardware concentrates partner risk.
- Any driverless heavy-truck safety incident, by Waabi or a peer, could trigger sector-wide regulatory setback.
- Capital-intensive model requires repeated large raises before any commercial revenue materializes.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Aurora Innovation | losing to | Canaccord Genuity called Class 8 autonomous trucking 'Aurora's to lose' in 2025; Aurora is public and further along |
| Kodiak Robotics | losing to | Kodiak launched first US commercial driverless truck operations in West Texas, December 2024 |
| Waymo | losing to | Waymo dominates robotaxis, the market Waabi entered via Uber deal announced 2026-01-28 |
| Torc Robotics | contesting | Torc, Aurora, Kodiak and Waabi all racing to run driverless trucks in Texas by end of 2026 |
Questions people ask
- Is Waabi profitable in 2026?
- No. Waabi has not disclosed audited revenue and has no reported fully driverless commercial trucking revenue as of January 2026. Its driverless launch, originally targeted for 2025, has slipped to around 2027, meaning the company remains pre-commercial despite raising a $750M Series C plus $250M from Uber on January 28, 2026.
- Could AI replace truck drivers through Waabi's technology?
- That is Waabi's explicit goal. Its Waabi Driver system, paired with the Waabi World simulator (launched 2022), aims to remove human drivers from long-haul trucking and, via a January 2026 Uber deal, from at least 25,000 robotaxis. No fully driverless commercial revenue has shipped yet as of early 2026.
- Who owns Waabi?
- Waabi is private and founder-led by CEO Raquel Urtasun, a University of Toronto professor and former Uber ATG chief scientist who founded it in 2021. Investors include Khosla Ventures, Uber, NVIDIA, Volvo Group Venture Capital, and G2 Venture Partners, following a $750M Series C announced January 28, 2026.
- Who is Waabi's biggest competitor?
- Aurora Innovation and Kodiak Robotics. Kodiak launched the first US commercial driverless truck operations in December 2024, and a 2025 Canaccord Genuity analyst called the Class 8 autonomous trucking market 'Aurora's to lose,' casting Waabi as a possible secondary OEM supplier rather than the leader.
- When will Waabi's driverless trucks actually launch commercially?
- Originally targeted for 2025, Waabi's fully driverless truck launch has slipped, with commercialization now framed around 2027 as of the January 28, 2026 Series C announcement. CEO Raquel Urtasun attributes the delay to validating the purpose-built Volvo vehicle, not AI readiness.
- Has Waabi been affected by layoffs in 2026?
- No layoffs have been reported. Waabi closed a $1B funding package (Series C plus Uber investment) on January 28, 2026, and added senior leadership including COO Lior Ron in August 2025, consistent with an expansion rather than contraction posture.
Timeline
- 2026-01-28Announces $750M Series C plus $250M Uber milestone investment, $1B total, and robotaxi partnership
- 2025-10Volvo VNL Autonomous truck integrating Waabi Driver unveiled at TechCrunch Disrupt
- 2025-08Former Uber Freight CEO Lior Ron joins Waabi as COO
- 2025-02Joint development partnership with Volvo Autonomous Solutions begins
- 2024-06Raises $200M Series B led by Uber and Khosla Ventures
- 2024-03Partners with NVIDIA to use NVIDIA DRIVE compute platform
- 2023-09Announces 10-year partnership with Uber Freight
- 2023Begins commercial freight pilots with safety drivers between Dallas and Houston
- 2022Launches Waabi World closed-loop neural simulator
- 2021-06Raises $83.5M Series A led by Khosla Ventures, largest Canadian Series A at the time
Revision history
21 July 2026
First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Waabi (Wikipedia) (2026-07-20)
- Waabi, founded by U of T's Raquel Urtasun, raises US$200 million (2024-06-20)
- Waabi secures $1 Billion in new funding (2026-01-27)
- Waabi Scores $1B, Partners With Uber on 25K Robotaxis
- $39M ARR, $274M Raised (2024-12-18)
- Dueling approaches to AI in autonomous trucking (2025-05-07)
- Waabi's Raquel Urtasun on Level-4 Autonomous Trucks (2026-04-13)
- Waabi Raises $1B, Partners With Uber on 25,000 Robotaxis
- Waabi hauls in $750M Series C to become Canada's newest AV unicorn (2026-01-28)
- Products, Competitors, Financials, Employees, Headquarters Locations (2026-07-02)
- Are Self-Driving Trucks Right Around the Corner? (2025-09-03)
- The 'AI superstar' CEO behind self-driving startup Waabi (2026-06-13)