{"id":"efd17dd1-0c95-47b7-bc97-5481441b9936","name":"Waabi","slug":"waabi","description":"Canadian autonomous-trucking company (founded 2021 by Raquel Urtasun, former Uber ATG chief scientist and University of Toronto professor). Builds the Waabi Driver, an end-to-end generative-AI L4 system trained and validated in the Waabi World generative simulator. Targets driverless commercial trucking on the Volvo VNL Autonomous platform; as of early 2026 it still runs with a safety driver (the end-2025 driver-out target was deliberately not met, gated on the purpose-built Volvo truck). In January 2026 it raised about $1B and added a robotaxi lane with Uber.","status":"private","founded":2021,"hq":"Toronto, Ontario, Canada","fundingTotal":null,"type":"brain","reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/08/ai-pioneer-raquel-urtasun-launches-self-driving-vehicle-startup-with-backing-from-khosla-uber-and-aurora/","title":"Raquel Urtasun launches Waabi; $83.5M Series A (Khosla) (Jun 8, 2021)","sourceName":"TechCrunch"},{"url":"https://betakit.com/raquel-urtasun-launches-new-self-driving-startup-waabi-with-100-million-cad-from-top-investors/","title":"Waabi launches with $100M CAD Series A; Toronto HQ (Jun 2021)","sourceName":"BetaKit"},{"url":"https://www.utoronto.ca/news/road-ahead-raquel-urtasun-s-startup-unleash-full-power-ai-self-driving-cars","title":"Raquel Urtasun's AI-first self-driving startup (U of Toronto)","sourceName":"University of Toronto"},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/14/waabis-raquel-urtasun-explains-why-the-time-was-right-to-launch-an-av-technology-startup/","title":"Urtasun on Waabi's AI-first approach (Jun 14, 2021)","sourceName":"TechCrunch"},{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/18/uber-khosla-nvidia-invest-in-autonomous-trucking-startup-waabi.html","title":"Uber, Khosla, NVIDIA invest in Waabi $200M Series B (Jun 18, 2024)","sourceName":"CNBC"},{"url":"https://waabi.ai/insights/waabi-series-b-announcement","title":"Waabi Series B; $200M to launch fully driverless trucks in 2025 (official) (Jun 2024)","sourceName":"Waabi (official)"},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/28/waabi-raises-1b-and-expands-into-robotaxis-with-uber/","title":"Waabi raises $1B and expands into robotaxis with Uber (Jan 28, 2026)","sourceName":"TechCrunch"},{"url":"https://fortune.com/2026/01/28/waabi-fundraise-valuation-1-billion-partners-with-uber-robotaxis-self-driving/","title":"Waabi up to $1B raise; robotaxi expansion with Uber (Jan 28, 2026)","sourceName":"Fortune"},{"url":"https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-waabi-uber-robotaxi-fleet-uber-raquel-urtasun/","title":"Waabi to operate a robotaxi fleet with Uber after a US$750M raise (Jan 2026)","sourceName":"The Globe and Mail"},{"url":"https://betakit.com/waabi-lands-750-million-usd-series-c-partners-with-uber-on-robotaxis/","title":"Waabi lands US$750M Series C, largest-ever Canadian tech raise (Jan 2026)","sourceName":"BetaKit"},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/12/uber-freight-ceo-lior-ron-joins-self-driving-startup-waabi-as-chief-operating-officer/","title":"Uber Freight CEO Lior Ron joins Waabi as COO (Aug 12, 2025)","sourceName":"TechCrunch"},{"url":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-28/self-driving-trucking-startup-waabi-raises-1-billion-expands-to-robotaxis","title":"Waabi raises $1B, expands to robotaxis (Jan 28, 2026)","sourceName":"Bloomberg"}],"keyFacts":[{"label":"Founded","value":"2021 by Raquel Urtasun (ex-Uber ATG chief scientist; U of Toronto; Vector Institute)"},{"label":"Funding","value":"Series A $83.5M (Khosla, 2021); Series B $200M (Uber/Khosla, 2024); Series C $750M + up to $250M Uber milestone (Jan 2026); ~$1.28B cumulative"},{"label":"Approach","value":"Generative-AI, simulation-first: the Waabi Driver (end-to-end L4) trained/validated in Waabi World; Copilot4D world model"},{"label":"Driverless status","value":"NOT driver-out as of early 2026; safety driver still aboard. End-2025 driverless target deliberately not met; gated on validation of the purpose-built Volvo VNL Autonomous (described as quarters away)."},{"label":"Leadership / lanes","value":"Lior Ron (ex-Uber Freight) joined as COO (Aug 2025); trucking is the core direction, with a robotaxi lane added via Uber (Jan 2026)"}],"aliases":["Waabi Innovation","Waabi AI"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-31T05:15:38.446Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T05:15:38.446Z"}