{"id":"efd17dd1-0c95-47b7-bc97-5481441b9936","name":"Waabi","slug":"waabi","description":"Canadian autonomous-trucking company (founded 2021 by Raquel Urtasun, former [Uber atg](/companies/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","hqLat":43.6534817,"hqLng":-79.3839347,"hqGeocodedAt":"2026-08-05T14:54:26.725Z","hqAddress":null,"hqPrecision":null,"website":"waabi.ai","fundingTotal":"1033500000","type":"both","roles":["robot_maker","robot_operator"],"reviewStatus":"reviewed","heatIndex":87,"lifecycleState":"active","supersededByCompanyId":null,"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"},{"url":"https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2026/09/22/this-robotrucker-says-its-ai-now-drives-highways-without-advance-training/","title":"This Robotrucker Says Its AI Now Drives Highways Without Advance Training","sourceName":"Forbes (Alan Ohnsman)","publishedAt":"2026-09-22"},{"url":"https://syncai.news/article/this-robotrucker-says-its-ai-now-drives-highways-without-advance-training-ce1282","title":"Forbes preview: Waabi Dallas-San Antonio highway run without advance route training","sourceName":"SyncAI.news (Forbes reprint preview)","publishedAt":"2026-09-22"},{"url":"https://forbes.com.mx/esta-empresa-de-camiones-autonomos-afirma-que-su-ia-ya-circula-por-autopistas-sin-entrenamiento-previo/","title":"Forbes Mexico: Waabi dice que su IA circula por autopistas sin entrenamiento previo","sourceName":"Forbes Mexico (Ohnsman / Forbes US)","publishedAt":"2026-09-22"},{"url":"https://www.waabi.ai/insights/waabi-crosses-the-next-frontier-of-generalization-unlocking-truly-scalable-avs","title":"Waabi crosses the next frontier of generalization, unlocking truly scalable AVs","sourceName":"Waabi (official)","publishedAt":"2026-06-26"},{"url":"https://www.freightwaves.com/news/autonomous-truck-generalization","title":"Waabi proves autonomous truck generalization with Volvo Autonomous Solutions","sourceName":"FreightWaves","publishedAt":"2026-07-15"},{"url":"https://waabi.ai/insights/80percent-growth-on-long-hauls-toughest-corridor","title":"80% Growth on Long Haul's Toughest Corridor","sourceName":"Waabi (official)","publishedAt":"2026-09-15"}],"keyFacts":[{"label":"Founder background","value":"Raquel Urtasun was chief scientist at Uber ATG and is linked to the University of Toronto and the Vector Institute."},{"label":"Uber milestone funding (Jan 2026)","value":"The $750M Series C came with up to $250M more from Uber tied to milestones."},{"label":"Approach","value":"Generative-AI, simulation-first: the end-to-end L4 Waabi Driver is trained and validated in Waabi World, with the Copilot4D world model."},{"label":"Driverless status (early 2026)","value":"Not driver-out; a safety driver is still aboard. The end-2025 driverless target was not met, pending validation of the Volvo VNL Autonomous."},{"label":"COO (Aug 2025)","value":"Lior Ron, formerly of Uber Freight, joined as COO."},{"label":"Business lines (Jan 2026)","value":"Trucking is the core; a robotaxi lane was added via Uber."},{"label":"Lancaster TX terminal (verified, Apr 2024)","value":"An 8-acre autonomous trucking terminal in Lancaster, Texas, south of Dallas, on a multiyear lease."},{"label":"Unfamiliar-route test (company-claimed, Sep 2026)","value":"A truck drove about 300 miles Dallas to San Antonio with no prior route data or practice, a safety driver aboard and no interventions, per Forbes."},{"label":"Zero-shot to Volvo VNL (company-claimed, Jun 2026)","value":"The Driver, trained on a Peterbilt 579, ran on the Volvo VNL Autonomous with no new data or fine-tuning, per Waabi and FreightWaves."}],"aliases":["Waabi Innovation","Waabi AI"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"atsProvider":null,"atsSlug":null,"factoryLocations":null,"manufacturingCapacity":null,"orgType":null,"burnSignal":null,"litigationEvents":null,"insurancePostureDisclosed":null,"unitEconomicsDisclosed":null,"tickerSymbol":null,"stockExchange":null,"secCik":null,"revenueUsd":null,"revenueBasis":null,"revenueAsOf":null,"employeeCount":null,"employeeCountBasis":null,"employeeCountAsOf":null,"marketCapUsd":null,"marketCapAsOf":null,"marketCapSource":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-31T05:15:38.446Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-10T03:07:30.485Z","jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/companies/waabi","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/companies/waabi","name":"Waabi","alternateName":["Waabi Innovation","Waabi AI"],"description":"Canadian autonomous-trucking company (founded 2021 by Raquel Urtasun, former [Uber atg](/companies/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.","identifier":"efd17dd1-0c95-47b7-bc97-5481441b9936","foundingDate":"2021","address":"Toronto, Ontario, Canada","publisher":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"}},"framework_metadata":{"framework_schema_version":"0.1.0","verification_status":"verified","maturity_stage":null,"lifecycle_state":null,"architectural_position":{"cohort":null,"sub_cohorts":[]},"within_cohort_verified_vs_claimed_pair":null,"cap_flags":[],"verification_depth":{"sources_count":18,"primary_source_types":["primary-company-ir","secondary-established-publication","secondary-industry-publication"]}}}