Waabi
Waabi is a Canadian artificial-intelligence company developing generative-AI-based autonomous-driving systems, initially focused on long-haul trucking.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Waabi, legally Waabi Innovations Inc., is a Toronto-based artificial-intelligence company focused on autonomous-driving technology. Founded in 2021 by Raquel Urtasun, a University of Toronto professor and former chief scientist and head of research and development at Uber's Advanced Technologies Group, the company aims to build self-driving systems that can reason about complex road situations in a manner more analogous to human driving than to conventional rule-heavy automation. The company’s technology is organized around an end-to-end autonomous-driving stack that combines software, sensors, vehicle hardware, simulation, and artificial intelligence. Its central software product, Waabi Driver, is intended to control autonomous vehicles and interpret their surroundings. Waabi also developed Waabi World, a closed-loop simulator designed to generate difficult and varied driving situations at scale. The simulator is intended to reduce dependence on costly and slow real-world road testing by allowing the system to learn and be evaluated in simulated environments. Waabi’s Mixed Reality Testing approach combines a physical test track with simulated scenarios, allowing an autonomous vehicle to operate in the real world while being exposed to virtual events and road conditions. Waabi initially concentrated on long-haul trucking rather than passenger vehicles. The company has described trucking as an important early application because of persistent driver shortages, the commercial value of freight transportation, and safety concerns associated with long-distance highway operations. In 2023, it partnered with Uber Freight on autonomous-truck deliveries beginning on the Dallas–Houston corridor, with a safety driver present during the initial operations. This partnership connected Waabi’s autonomy technology with a major freight marketplace and provided a route toward commercial deployment. Waabi has also established technology and vehicle-development relationships with major industry participants. In March 2024, the company announced a partnership with Nvidia to use the Nvidia Drive vehicle-computing platform for generative-AI-powered autonomous-driving applications. In February 2025, Waabi announced a collaboration with Volvo Autonomous Solutions to develop and deploy autonomous technology in Volvo long-haul trucks. The companies later announced the Volvo VNL Autonomous truck, which integrates Waabi Driver with Volvo’s autonomous-truck technology. The company has raised substantial private funding. Its 2021 Series A round, led by Khosla Ventures, was reported at approximately $83.5 million and was described at the time as the largest Series A financing for a Canadian company. In June 2024, Waabi announced a further $200 million Series B led by Uber and Khosla Ventures. In January 2026, it announced a $750 million Series C led by Khosla Ventures and G2 Venture Partners, together with a separate $250 million investment from Uber connected to a planned robotaxi deployment. These financings support Waabi’s expansion beyond trucking and its development of autonomous passenger-vehicle applications. Waabi’s brand name is associated with the Ojibwe phrase meaning “she has vision” and with the Japanese word for “simple,” according to descriptions of the company. In August 2025, former Uber Freight chief executive Lior Ron joined Waabi as chief operating officer. In January 2026, Waabi announced a partnership with Uber to deploy 25,000 robotaxis on Uber’s platform, signaling an expansion from commercial trucking into ride-hailing and autonomous passenger transportation. The company remains privately held and its technology is positioned around scalable simulation, generative artificial intelligence, and commercial vehicle autonomy.
History
Waabi was established in 2021 in Toronto by Raquel Urtasun, an academic researcher in computer vision and autonomous driving who had previously served as chief scientist and head of research and development at Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group. The company was created around the premise that autonomous vehicles could be developed more efficiently with artificial intelligence capable of reasoning about unfamiliar situations, rather than relying primarily on extensive manually engineered rules and enormous volumes of road testing. Waabi’s early technical direction centered on long-haul trucking. Highway freight offered a commercially important use case with relatively structured routes, while the trucking sector also faced driver shortages and significant safety demands. The company’s approach combined a virtual driving system with simulation and real-world testing. Its principal autonomy product, Waabi Driver, integrates software, sensors, and vehicle hardware to operate an autonomous vehicle. Waabi World, introduced in 2022, is a closed-loop simulator that can produce complex road scenarios and observe how the driving system responds. The simulator is intended to help the company train, test, and validate autonomous behavior at scale while lowering the cost and risk of exposing prototype vehicles to every possible real-world situation. Waabi also developed Mixed Reality Testing, in which an autonomous vehicle operates on a physical test track while simulated road events are introduced into its perception and decision-making environment. This method is designed to bridge the gap between purely virtual testing and conventional on-road trials. Together, these systems support Waabi’s broader claim that generative artificial intelligence can make autonomous-driving development more scalable and adaptable. The company moved toward commercial freight activity through a 2023 partnership with Uber Freight. The initial program contemplated autonomous-truck deliveries on the Dallas–Houston corridor, with a safety driver in the vehicle during early operations. The relationship provided a commercial pathway for Waabi Driver and connected Waabi’s technology to Uber Freight’s logistics network. In March 2024, Waabi and Nvidia announced a partnership involving the Nvidia Drive vehicle-computing platform. The collaboration was intended to support generative-AI-powered autonomous-driving applications and provide computing infrastructure for deploying Waabi’s systems in vehicles. Waabi’s financing history reflects growing investor interest in autonomous trucking and AI. In June 2021, the company raised approximately $83.5 million in a Series A led by Khosla Ventures. The financing was characterized at the time as the largest Canadian Series A round. In June 2024, Waabi announced a further $200 million Series B led by Uber and Khosla Ventures. These funds supported continued product development, testing, hiring, and commercial expansion. The company broadened its vehicle-industry relationships in 2025. In February, it announced a collaboration with Volvo Autonomous Solutions to jointly develop and deploy self-driving technology in Volvo long-haul trucks. Later that year, the partners announced the Volvo VNL Autonomous truck, which incorporated Waabi Driver into Volvo’s autonomous-truck technology. In August 2025, Lior Ron, formerly chief executive of Uber Freight, became Waabi’s chief operating officer. His appointment reinforced the connection between Waabi’s autonomy program and the freight ecosystem. Waabi subsequently expanded its ambitions beyond trucking. In January 2026, it announced a partnership with Uber to deploy 25,000 robotaxis on Uber’s platform. The announcement positioned Waabi’s technology for passenger transportation and ride-hailing as well as freight. At the same time, the company announced a $750 million Series C led by Khosla Ventures and G2 Venture Partners and a separate $250 million investment from Uber associated with the robotaxi plan. The name Waabi has been described as drawing on both Ojibwe and Japanese meanings: an Ojibwe expression translated as “she has vision” and the Japanese word for “simple.” The brand therefore reflects the company’s emphasis on perception, reasoning, and simplification of autonomous-driving development. Waabi remains a privately held technology company whose principal identity is tied to AI-based vehicle autonomy, simulation, and commercial deployment partnerships.
- 2026
Uber robotaxi deployment partnership
[1]Waabi announced a partnership with Uber connected to a planned deployment of 25,000 robotaxis on Uber’s platform.
- 2025
Volvo Autonomous Solutions collaboration
[1]Waabi and Volvo Autonomous Solutions announced a joint effort to develop and deploy autonomous technology in Volvo long-haul trucks.
- 2025
Volvo VNL Autonomous truck announced
[1]Waabi and Volvo announced a Volvo VNL Autonomous truck integrating Waabi Driver with Volvo’s autonomous-truck technology.
- 2024
Nvidia Drive partnership
[1]Waabi and Nvidia announced work involving Nvidia Drive vehicle computing for generative-AI autonomous-driving applications.
- 2024
Series B financing
[1]Waabi announced a $200 million Series B led by Uber and Khosla Ventures.
- 2023
Uber Freight autonomous-trucking partnership
[1]Waabi partnered with Uber Freight on autonomous freight deliveries beginning on the Dallas–Houston route.
- 2022
Waabi World is launched
[1]The company launched its closed-loop autonomous-driving simulation platform for generating and testing complex scenarios.
- 2021
Waabi is founded in Toronto
[1]Raquel Urtasun founded Waabi to develop artificial-intelligence-based autonomous-driving technology, initially emphasizing long-haul trucking.
- 2021
Series A financing
[1]Waabi raised approximately $83.5 million in a Series A led by Khosla Ventures.
Products and positioning
Waabi positions itself as an artificial-intelligence company pursuing scalable autonomous driving through generative AI, closed-loop simulation, and end-to-end vehicle control. Its initial commercial emphasis has been long-haul trucking, with later expansion toward autonomous ride-hailing.
Autonomous-driving system
Waabi Driver
Waabi Driver is Waabi’s virtual driving system, combining autonomous-driving software with sensors and vehicle hardware. It is designed to perceive road conditions, reason about traffic situations, and control autonomous vehicles. The system has been applied to the company’s autonomous-trucking efforts and is also integrated into the Volvo VNL Autonomous truck announced with Volvo.
Simulation platform · 2022
Waabi World
Waabi World is a closed-loop simulator launched in 2022 for autonomous-driving development. It generates road scenarios and allows the vehicle-driving system to respond within a simulated environment. The platform is intended to support large-scale training, evaluation, and validation while reducing the expense and exposure associated with conducting every test on public roads.
Autonomous-vehicle testing
Mixed Reality Testing
Mixed Reality Testing combines physical vehicle testing with simulated events. Waabi Driver can operate on a physical test track while encountering virtualized road situations through the vehicle’s perception and decision systems. The approach is intended to connect simulation-based validation with physical testing and broaden the range of situations that can be evaluated safely.
Autonomous long-haul truck · 2025
Volvo VNL Autonomous
The Volvo VNL Autonomous is a long-haul truck announced by Waabi and Volvo in 2025. It integrates Waabi Driver with Volvo’s autonomous-truck technology and represents the companies’ effort to move autonomous freight operations toward a production-oriented vehicle platform.
Brand decisions
2026
Expand into Uber robotaxisStrategyBackground
After concentrating on freight, Waabi pursued a passenger-vehicle application for its autonomous-driving technology.
Action taken
Waabi announced a partnership with Uber connected to the planned deployment of 25,000 robotaxis on Uber’s platform.
Aftermath
The announcement broadened Waabi’s stated commercial scope from autonomous trucking to autonomous ride-hailing.
Planned robotaxis. 25,000 (Announced January 2026)
2025
Jointly develop autonomous Volvo trucksStrategyBackground
Waabi needed vehicle-manufacturing and integration partners to move its autonomy software from testing into commercial truck platforms.
Action taken
The company collaborated with Volvo Autonomous Solutions on the development and deployment of self-driving technology in Volvo long-haul trucks.
Aftermath
The collaboration produced the announced Volvo VNL Autonomous truck, which integrates Waabi Driver.
2024
Adopt Nvidia Drive computing infrastructureStrategyBackground
Autonomous-driving systems require substantial onboard computing for perception, prediction, planning, and control.
Action taken
Waabi announced a partnership with Nvidia to use the Nvidia Drive vehicle-computing platform for generative-AI autonomous-driving applications.
Aftermath
The partnership was intended to support deployment of Waabi’s AI systems in production-oriented vehicles.
2023
Move toward commercial autonomous freightStrategyBackground
Waabi sought to connect its autonomous-driving system with a functioning freight network rather than limiting development to demonstrations and testing.
Action taken
It partnered with Uber Freight on autonomous deliveries beginning between Dallas and Houston, with a safety driver present during the initial phase.
Aftermath
The partnership gave Waabi a defined freight corridor and a route toward commercial validation of autonomous trucking.
2021
Prioritize long-haul truckingStrategyBackground
Waabi entered autonomous driving with a primary focus on long-haul trucking, a sector affected by driver shortages and significant highway-safety requirements.
Action taken
The company directed its early product development, testing, and commercial partnerships toward autonomous freight vehicles rather than beginning with robotaxis.
Aftermath
This focus led to the Uber Freight and Volvo Autonomous Solutions relationships and established trucking as Waabi’s initial commercial application.
Recent events
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